Vision
by Sherbet Mayhem
Summary: Chapter ONE uploaded and COMPLETE! :D Huzzah! An inexplicable case of selfmutilation. A downward spiral. A locust under the chair. A shadow. A mirror. A challenge. Two fish in murky waters. The turning of tables and incoming doom. The one ring. Man's gred
1. Sleeptalk

"**Vision"**

**Sherbet Mayhem: **Hi everybody! Wow, it's been such a long time since I wrote anything for this site! Seriously, it's been around a year since I put anything up! Anyways . . . I'm back, and it's great to be back, among a crowd of . . . gets nervous complete . . . strangers . . . woah, I don't know anyone on this part of the site! Um . . . hello, all you Teen Titans lovers, you . . . hey there . . . ahhhh . . . well, I guess anytime is a good time to meet new people:D Um . . . I don't own Teen Titans . . . although I do plan on _becoming_ Raven one day in the not-too-distant future. Oh, and if anyone notices a sudden drop in my punctuation levels – it's done for a purpose, okay? No one has full stops in their thoughts, lol.

Anyways, I'm off, I'll catch you guys at the end of the chapter – and please, for goodness sake, review me; it makes me feel happy in my heart! Please be honest in reviews – I don't mind criticism as long as it's constructive. I do tend to argue back sometimes, but that makes things fun!

See ya at the bottom – enjoy "Vision".

Chapter One – Sleep Talk.

"_There's more to_ _come"_

_Then black_

_Always still pictures flashing pounding screaming but never revealing more simply still pictures and this black dark_

_Again another a boy_

_Young blond tall attractive_

_Gone again just like that so quickly hardly had a chance to_

_Again blue eyes saw him what's happening to him seems happy seems_

_Black_

_Black_

_Black_

_That's him lying there lying not standing lying on the pavement_

_Street sign street sign_

_None so far urban grey raining pavement smells of tarmac wet gardens tarmac_

_Black_

_Black_

_No noise just silence after "There's more to come" just black sound empty noise loud silence_

_Black_

_Blood there's blood it's all around the blackness the silence cries tears of blood it fills it drinks it drowns_

_The rain is the blood_

_Blood rain blood reign_

_The boy is the blood I am the blood the blood is all everywhere it dances and shines and shivers it is beautiful taste it_

_It laughs and breaks my crying silence scratches scratches_

_Scratch the blood stop the scratch scratch_

_The boy is dead and I am the blood so wet so wet drip run run wet slink in the silver light_

_Stop the scratch the blood taste the metal_

_What is this _

_Black_

_Black_

_Black_

_What is this _

Cyborg lay awake, watching the dull infra-reflection of his red eye casting across the ceiling. It was so bright against the darkness of the expanse of plaster that slept above him. He moved it, controlled it, watched it as it watched him, like a spider, flitting along desperately to avoid the cruel glare of a child's watch as it played along the wall.

He was hungry. He always became hungry if he woke up in the night, but declined to follow the urges of his stomach due to the comfortable groans his legs gave when he tried to move them. The lull of sleep was an inviting one, despite his hunger pangs.

The empty smell of his room calmed his angry stomach, and the gentle snoring of Beast Boy in the room to his left began to sway Cyborg like a lullaby. The Teen Titans had slept easily and heavily of late. The chirpy sound of their communicators alerting them to some new crime or atrocity in the surrounding city area had become little more than a memory. Crime, it seemed, was at an all time low.

Perhaps the Teen Titans had simply done a good job? Perhaps their effective crime fighting skills had acted as a successful deterrent to future criminals? Perhaps would-be felons were learning the error of their ways early enough to stop them attempting any large-scale crime; or small-scale, for that matter. Whatever the reason, the Teen Titans had been blessed with so much free time lately that it seemed criminals had simply been wiped out; exterminated, and would no longer bother them.

"_Poor Robin"_ thought Cyborg with a smile as he rolled over to a more comfortable position, _"He's so worried that we'll all be out of a job soon!"_

Smirking to himself, his amusement further heightened by the sound of Beast Boy talking in his sleep ("Sure we can go to my room, baby, but be prepared – people say I'm an animal in bed . . ."), Cyborg began to let the gentle silk of sleep wrap around him soothingly, skilfully, till the emptiness of his room swam around him, and he reached the bridge between reality and fantasy . . .

Something began to tear him away from his dreams. A dim mutter at first, almost an incoherent mumble. He dismissed it as Beast Boy and attempted to fold himself back into the silk, but the mumbling grew louder, more frantic, more disturbing. There was a noise of movement amongst sheets, a noise of tossing, turning, writhing. Fear.

Almost reluctantly Cyborg dragged himself from the last fleeting remnants of sleep and sat up, his eyes chasing the darkness of his bedroom. To his left he could hear the usual noise of Beast Boy. To his right . . . what was that?

"Scratching?" he mused, puzzled. He slid off his hard bed, his muscles responding as if in limbo – was this an emergency? Or a false alarm? What was it?

The noises soon evolved into groans, into whimpers. Distress. He could almost smell it. The creak of a bed as someone twisted upon its slender springs . . . he knew the sounds of a nightmare when he heard them. In fact, for a small period of time, when Starfire had first arrived on earth, she had suffered recurrent nightmares about the feared destruction of her planet, which had only happened in her dreams but had scared her thoroughly nonetheless. Cyborg knew how to deal with nightmares.

"_Whose room is on my right?" _he thought as he headed for the doorway to his own room, his infra red tracking sensors able to guide him through the watery darkness surrounding him, _"Is it Robin?"_

As he exited his room and turned right to take the few short steps down the dark corridor to the nightmare room, a stifled scream, a choking, dying scream crawled its way into the narrow air. Cyborg stopped short for a second.

"_It's Raven"_

Robin was sound asleep when the scream jolted him out of his dreams and to his senses. He could feel adrenaline thrusting through his veins as he sprang out of bed with quick, cat-like reactions to the shocking noise. It sounded like someone was being murdered out in the corridor. His cover dropped from around his half naked body to the floor, and he leaped towards his own door, the pressures and responsibilities of being team leader rising to the fore as his courageous nature propelled him forward. He had to make sure his team was all right.

His black mat hair fell into his eyes, now devoid of its usual gel, and he swept it away with a quick jerk of his head. Before he left the room, he swiftly grabbed his mask – no matter how much of a hurry he was in, he would _not_ leave his room without that. As he snapped it across his dark brown eyes, he threw open his door at the sound of frightened footsteps on the corridor outside.

Darkness greeted him, and the sound of commotion off to his right directed his feet as they shivered from the cold of the floor beneath him. The hair on his arms and legs stood on charged end as he ran towards the noise. As he moved, suddenly, a dim light flooded the corridor, and Robin could tell that someone's door was open, and the light had just been switched on.

"Raven!"

He heard Cyborg and moved faster. "What's going on?" he yelled as he sprinted down the long corridor. It was Raven's door that was open – he knew this mostly because it was a room everybody avoided. Frowning when he heard no articulate answer, he found himself puzzled by the strange noises coming from the room.

"_Scratches?" _

The indigo light from Raven's room spooled around him as he entered its fill, and he squinted as he rounded the corner into her bedroom, attempting to scan the situation with half open eyes. He could vaguely hear Cyborg.

"Cy? What's wrong? Raven?"

As his eyes adjusted, he could feel his pupils constricting to restrain the prying light from his eyes. Things began to swim into focus now – the murky shape of Cyborg, his red eye aglow, Raven's bed, the furniture lying around the room . . .

"Wh . . . what?"

His sight returned to him, Robin stared around at the black walls of Raven's gothic room. Etched into the plaster, at almost every opportunity, were deep red scratch marks, as red as scarlet paint but embedded into the wall, usually in sets of three scratches. Paintings were torn in two, bloodied by these vicious animal markings, the ceiling adorned with them. They did not drip, but merely sat, watching the room. The furniture was unmarked and yet torn and ripped, as thought the paint on the claws of this giant beast had run out. Chipped off plaster littered the floor like black snow, barely visible upon the plum carpet. Cyborg was huddled at Raven's bed, and he glanced over at Robin as he took in the scenery.

"Robin, get over here."

Upon order, Robin darted over to Raven's bed, which lay directly in the centre of the back of the room. The black covers hung off the edges of the mattress in a limp, dead fashion, and as he neared the bed, Robin could see the deep cherry slices in the covers.

"_Raven . . ."_

He stopped next to Cyborg, and watched for a moment, aghast. His eyes widened in disbelief, and his body shook, whether with fear or cold.

Raven seemed to be asleep. She simply wore a black bra and black shorts, which seemed unharmed by whatever had mauled her bedroom. However, the pale glow of her skin was crawling with slashes of red, which dripped this time, from her nails, from her broken skin. As Robin watched, totally dumbfounded, her hand raised to her face and her long, well kept nails slammed into her cheek, pulling the flesh, gnawing it southwards with the tug of her sleeping hand. Her eyes remained firmly closed.

"Raven, stop!" Robin exclaimed, woken from his amazed stupor by the blood that seeped through her fingers. "Hold her down!" he ordered Cyborg, who complied by grabbing the slim girl's wrists and pinning them to the bed. Immediately she began to writhe, her mouth opening and biting at the heavy air. Cyborg groaned as he tried to keep her pinned down despite her struggles, and from underneath her closed eyelids, he noticed a black glow beginning to throb.

"Her powers! She's gonna use her powers!" he yelled in his thick accent. Robin grabbed her legs and pinioned her to the white mattress, which was spattered with red and pale patterns. Raven's head strained, pulled from side to side as though in the throes of some fever, and her mouth began to utter noises incomprehensible to her two friends. A black energy glowed at her bloodied fingertips, and Cyborg faltered, letting go of her wrists. Suddenly, her back arched manically and she snapped up in bed, an entirely chilling scream escaping from her mouth as her eyelids flicked open to reveal, instead of the white and the pupil, an expanse of bleeding rouge, which leaked from the tear ducts and trailed her face. Robin cried out in fear as her face neared his own, and squinted his eyes tightly. He didn't want to see this. She was bleeding under her eyelids.

Abruptly, the scream ended; no echo, no backlash. And the tension felt by Robin in the girl's slender legs dropped. He was too afraid of what he might see to open his eyes, and so he kept them tightly closed, revelling in the blackness he found behind them. Next to him, Cyborg watched as Raven blinked repeatedly, and, despite the traditionally white section of her eyes remaining bloodied red, her pupils appeared, as lavender as always, yet filled with confusion. Her eyes met Cyborg's.

"What's . . . what's going on?" Raven asked, her voice back to its usual deep tone rather than the terrified, ghoulish screaming of seconds ago. Cyborg sighed, momentarily relieved, and Robin opened his own eyes to look at his friend.

She looked at the two of them briefly before glancing down at her own body, and her face reeled with an expression of horror as she took in the damage. Her hair clung in strands to her face as she gasped for breath, the sight of her own body making her gag.

"I'm . . . what the hell happened?" Raven blurted in panic, her calm voice snapping to a tone of terror as she noticed the destruction of her bedroom. It was ruined, just like her body.

"Raven, you did this," said Cyborg after a momentary pause where the silence clung like shadow. "You did this to yourself when you were sleeping."

Her pale face fell to further ash, and she shook her head. "Impossible. I . . . I couldn't . . ."

Robin wrapped her blanket around her swiftly, gingerly. He noticed she was shivering wildly. His heart pounded with the remains of that adrenaline as he gave his friend a weak smile.

"We'll get you to the infirmary, Raven. Don't worry. We'll take care of you."

As he spoke, an unharmed vase standing on a shelf to Robin's left suddenly exploded, sending tiny shards of ceramic across the floor. Both Robin and Cyborg knew this was a result of Raven's fear leaking out as a force of energy and inhabiting inanimate objects. Her powers were directly linked to her emotions. When her emotions got the better of her, she lost control of her powers. Robin looked back at the slim, shaking teen in the bed. Her gaze still traversed the lengths and curves of her body, torn and damaged; her own doing. Pearl drop tears, a fiery mix of red water fell onto her hands. She was terrified.

"As far as I knew, I was sound asleep," she said through gritted teeth, attempting to keep hold of the reins of her feelings, "How could I . . ."

"Don't worry your head about it girl," said Cyborg with a friendly, comforting smile, "We'll figure it out later. But right now, we gotta take care of you."

Her eyes could not meet theirs. She could only focus upon the ribbons of red lace wrapping her pallid skin, the rivers of leftover thread seeping out of the scratches and heading where gravity pulled them. How pathetic she must look to them! Shivering, snivelling young girl, incapable of helping herself, lying in practically nothing and covered with self inflicted wounds that she didn't remember exacting. How the mighty Raven had fallen.

"I can take care of myself," she said feebly, pushing Robin's hands back from her shoulders, "This is my problem."

"Oh no," Robin shook his head, "That's not going to happen Raven. You need to let us look after you. We need to figure out why you hurt yourself, and wrecked your room, and whether this could happen again. We're your friends – we want to help you."

She forced herself to glance up at Cyborg and Robin, her cheeks burning with suffusion. She was ashamed of her behaviour.

"We want to help," repeated Cyborg gently with a smile. Reluctantly, Raven nodded weakly, wiping a blood tear from her cheek with her shaking hand. She allowed Robin to slip her arm around his shoulder and lift her from her bed, and he cradled her as he walked, almost the hero in a fairytale cradling his princess. Raven doubted that she would go back to sleep tonight.

"Well _what_ was all that about?"

There was a silence as Beast Boy waited for his reply. Eyes dragged the ground heavily as the silence lingered. The four unharmed titans – Robin, Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy – had gathered in the main chamber of Titan's Tower to discuss the night's happenings. Beast Boy, the small green changeling, glanced at a nearby digital clock whilst suppressing a yawn.

"_Three fifty am"_

"Guys, come on. It's late. What happened back there?"

Robin winced at Beast Boy's impatient tone. He didn't quite know how to word the events. He had never seen Raven so helpless. To see her shivering upon her bloodied mattress, with no memory of what had happened, her eyes full of shamed tears – it was a look, Robin had decidedly realised, that she did not suit. The Raven he knew was strong and _always_ in total control. The Raven he knew was self-sufficient in every way, a witty, quietly confident young adult. The Raven he'd seen tonight was a child, lost; frightened. The Raven he'd seen tonight had needs. Had bled.

"_Well I guess all of us are searching for an open arm"_

"Robin . . ."

Robin glanced up at the pretty Starfire in her lilac nightgown, who watched him curiously. "Please, tell us," she pleaded.

After holding her emerald gaze for a moment, Robin took a breath, and the air tasted stale.

"I really don't know," he said, lowering his eyes, vaguely disappointed in himself for not knowing all the answers. "I heard a scream, ran out into the corridor, saw the light from Raven's room, ran in there, and . . . well . . . her room was ripped apart, covered in these deep red scratches . . . and Raven was on the bed, covered in them too. At first I thought that someone might've attacked her. But-"

"She was doing them to herself," Cyborg interrupted. "She was fast asleep, and tearing herself to shreds."

Beast Boy and Starfire listened intently, Starfire's pointed face displaying expressions of horror at her friend's experience.

"Was it a nightmare?" she asked quietly, addressing both Cyborg and Robin. Cyborg stretched his metal muscles.

"I don't know. Whatever it was, Raven didn't know it was happening. She was fast asleep."

The silence embraced them again, heavy as coffin on soil. Questions milled through the air but no one dared ask.

"Where is she now?" Beast Boy asked tentatively, not liking the weight in the air. Cyborg answered quietly without looking up.

"In the infirmary. Awake."

Again, silence. Discomfort. Worry, awkwardness. Guilt. Intrigue.

Robin shivered. He was only in his boxer shorts, which were thin and offered little heat; and it was a dark, cold night. He stood, moved, to heat himself up. The atmosphere was thick but chilled.

"I'm going to go check on her, and then get some shut eye. You guys can go to bed if you want," his voice still held that authorative tone even when he didn't mean it to. Starfire raised a hand in protest. Her stomach shook with worry for her friend. She and Raven had a particular bond – they often acted like sisters. After their souls had mistakenly been switched by a criminal some time ago, they understood each other more than most realised. Her slight voice, with its odd use of grammar, caused Robin to wait.

"Robin, I would wish to visit the infirmary with you. Perhaps Raven would enjoy the appearance of company so early."

Her smile brought spirit to the puzzled group, but Robin shook his head.

"I need you guys well rested, just in case there's trouble. We're already one Titan down. Get some sleep, all of you. I'll be going to bed soon."

Starfire's pretty Tamaranian face fell a little, but she nodded reluctantly as Cyborg and Beast Boy made a move towards the corridor where so much had happened earlier. She followed suit, wrapping a length of her auburn hair around her long fingers nervously and saying a quick goodnight to Robin, who moved towards the infirmary.

"_All of us are searching for an open arm . . ."_

She could hear his thoughts. Somehow. She knew what he thought of her. She knew what _they_ thought of her. She knew she was pathetic.

She could see herself in the reflection of the window of the infirmary. She'd asked for the curtains to remain open, and now watched the drops of rain as they caught the glass and fell like tiny memories, leaving their own gingerbread trails to be washed away by more droplets. The November skies fell upon the trees and fields outside brashly, drumming her window as though they were trying to enter.

She could see that Cyborg and Robin had done their best to clean her up. In the almost black window she could see her pale skin standing out through the water trails, now scarred at random by thin snakes of faded blood. Underneath the tips of her nails, however, browning blood remained as a constant memory jogger of what she had done to herself. Her wrists and shins had been bandaged to stem the heavier flow of blood from those more inflicted areas. She'd wrapped her own bandages.

"_Well it's a shame how I curl up in the dark"_

She resisted the urge to bury her head in her hands. She must've looked so pitiful to them. Whatever had happened to the self-sufficient person she had been so proud of? She knew _"they want to help me"_ but deep down she was well aware that it was all a farce. They put up with her – and she was painfully conscious of the fact that although her admirable telepathic skills were an undoubted asset to the team, she was not really needed for much more than that. Their friendship was not genuine. Even Starfire – whom she spent a lot of time with, only really gained knowledge of meditation from the hours spent together. Nobody knew her, understood her. She knew they thought she was "creepy" – but she had always retained a degree of pride in the fact that they could _always_ rely on her as a strong, self-sufficient person. Now even that was gone. Now she couldn't even take care of herself in her sleep. She had revealed a weakness that she didn't even understand herself. How could she expect their respect anymore?

There was a knock on the door.

She knew – _"I know" – _that it wasn't real – _"I am alone"_.

The white doorknob twisted.

"_I won't be fooled by smiles"_

The door opened.

"_Not again"_

Robin entered the pale grey room with a smile. "Hey Raven."

She watched him with unemotional eyes. "Hi."

He shut the door behind him, the click seeming incredibly loud in the quiet of the room. It wasn't an unpleasant space, to be sure (there was a television, a games console, a shelf full of books and a mini refrigerator for those in recovery), but there was something unnerving about its lifeless grey walls; so pallid and devoid of colour. In her current state, her skin pale from fear and cold and her eyes so lacklustre, Raven seemed to fit in perfectly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, running a weary hand through his hair, gently pulling at a few handfuls. He waited for the response.

"Tired," she answered, "but due to the fact that I can't sleep, that doesn't surprise me."

Robin smiled again, attempting to bring some brightness to the room. He felt as though he were stepping upon ice about to crack.

"_You're being absurd"_

He knew that. _"It's Raven!"_ He'd known this girl for years now. Why should he feel uncomfortable or afraid in her presence? They'd always gotten on relatively well, and although they had never taken a particular interest in each other's lives, they knew enough of each other to get along professionally.

He had to get to the bottom of what had happened – Robin was not the sort of person to let matters rest overnight. He wished to discover the answers while the questions were still so fresh in his mind. He was at his sharpest when he was most curious.

"Raven . . ." he began, "do you have any memory at all of what happened to you?"

She blinked.

"_Bold" _she thought, _"I expected him to skip around the subject for a little while"_

"Not really. I only remember waking up. And being covered in scratches."

Robin nodded, his mind whirring. "Have you ever suffered from nightmares?"

"Not that I'm aware."

He was out of questions already. _"That was quick"_

He pulled over a small wooden chair and sat down, his arms and chest covered in goosebumps from the chilly night air. A glance at the pelted window told him the rain still hammered outside, and he could hear, if he listened hard enough, the wind chasing its own tail around the tower they lived in.

There was a short silence. Robin had run out of questions, and Raven did not have any information to give. She genuinely regretted that. She wouldn't be so frightened of what had happened to her if she understood it. And she didn't like being afraid.

"So . . ." Robin mumbled, now definitely feeling uncomfortable. This girl's heavy, lifeless gaze followed him and made him feel more bare than he was. "You're going to need sleep eventually."

Her purple eyes narrowed underneath the shadow of her hair. "Not if I can help it."

The look on Robin's face was enough to tell her he was totally incredulous. "You can't stay awake for ever Raven. It's impossible."

"_Bet he wouldn't want to sleep if"_

"You wanna have my nightmares for me?" she shot back, eyes glinting. "Wake up covered in your own blood? Try it. Then I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting back to sleep afterwards."

Sarcasm. Robin sighed, admitting to himself that she did have a point. Yet he also knew she really _couldn't_ stay awake forever.

"If you go back to sleep, maybe we could figure out what's doing this to you, and-"

"NO!"

He fell silent at her raised voice, surprisingly strong for somebody in such a weak position. Despite being physically helpless, Raven was still totally in control of her mind. He admired that – and didn't want to leave her yet. Robin felt tired, but wanted to stay with her; make sure she was all right.

"The red's all gone from your eyes now, Raven," he said tentatively, hoping to earn a response. She glanced at him, but made no reply. Just those eyes, which, although the white had returned to highlight the lavender, were still so painfully listless that it made Robin feel unhappy just to look into them. Raven looked away, towards the window, and watched the rain collide angrily with the glass.

"Go."

"What?"

Raven's eyebrows furrowed as she seemed to concentrate on the water dripping down the glass. "Just go. Get away."

Robin was about to reply when the television on the nearby cabinet flickered on. He caught a glimpse of the black telekinetic glow about Raven's pale hands as it disappeared, and then rematerialised to change the channel. She kept the volume low, and flicked channels every few seconds.

"It's almost like you can't stay still, Raven."

She frowned at his remark. "If they're kept moving, thoughts don't wander to where they shouldn't go."

Robin raised an eyebrow, sceptical. "They never face their source, their reason."

"They never manifest."

"They never develop, blossom."

"They never _hurt me_!"

The wind growled and threw itself at the window as her voice raised, and Raven forced herself to calm down quickly. Robin's brown eyes flashed momentary defeat, and despite the television's hum, the room was cemented in silence once more. It lay heavy, and her thoughts began to tread unholy ground.

"_I will NOT think about it I won't allow my thoughts to control me_

_Black_

_Blood rain_

_Taste it_

_The boy is the blood I am the blood_

_Young blond tall attractive_

_There's more to come"_

Raven gasped and snapped open her eyes. "I didn't sleep."

Robin looked over from his solitary chair, his hair falling sleepily into his eyes for the second time that night. "No, you didn't."

He grew suspicious at her almost frightened expression.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Raven sighed, her breath shaky and weak to her own ears. "You couldn't catch them."

He smiled, and Raven was fleetingly comforted by his presence. Despite all she'd thought (and how was she to trust her thoughts?) she was glad she was not completely alone at this point.

Her violet gaze shifted out of focus, and she found it again on the television screen. The dim voice of a middle aged newsreader churned out from the side speakers, and began to lay itself over the silence of the room in Raven's mind. She followed the man's lips, her eyes flashing. Her wayward thoughts dragged her body to move, to crawl forward, closer to the man. She couldn't hear Robin's pleas to rest, to stay still, but crawled to the edge of the bed, eyes of cold, blind sweat clinging to her body. The man spoke on, his lips moving, her mind not hearing but merely watching.

"_The lips what is he saying_

_He knows"_

The image changed, and her mind longed for the lips. They left her, and the screen displayed what she knew would come.

"_Young blond tall attractive"_

He lay on the image, wrapped in its edges and gloss. She wished, that from his position on the pavement, he could drag himself behind the thick, bold letters of the headline to hide himself from her sight. She willed him to move, desperately, longed again for the nameless, unrecognisable lips. But only saw the boy and the blood.

"Robin," she whispered, her voice low and hoarse. "It's him. The boy."

Robin, as Raven had crawled, had moved closer to her, perhaps in some frail attempt to stop her path. Yet her focus had spoken to him, ordered him not to touch her. To let her see.

"It's who, Raven?" he said gently, glancing at the screen. The report was a late night bulletin. The headlines read "Boy, 17, mauled at local zoo."

With a frown as the pieces began to fit in his mind, forming a vague image of his own, Robin glanced back at Raven, noting the scratches on her body, noting the treble form marks and bloodied bandages. He gathered his thoughts messily.

"Did you . . . did you see him?"

Raven's mouth fell slightly ajar as she nodded weakly. Her barriers crashed down as her thoughts danced wickedly, their voices grinning and flirting with her.

"_it fills it drinks it drowns_

_The boy is dead I am the blood"_

"I was there," she said, her voice trembling now to both Robin and herself. "Somehow. Maybe not physically. I . . . saw this image. I knew him . . ."

Outside, the rain hammered harder. It scratched the window panes in treble form marks.

"I knew him and it nearly killed me."

"_There's more to come"_

**Sherbet Mayhem:** Well, I REALLY hope you guys liked chapter one! I'm writing at 01:36 in the morning, as I am jetlagged from Florida (I just got back) and so my body believes it is actually 08:36 in the evening! Lol! Well, I'd really appreciate some reviews – that would be lovely! The writing on the Teen Titan section of fanfiction really seems of a pretty high standard and so I hope this meets people's expectations. I should update soon – I'm not too slow an updater, and I love to write late at night – it's when I'm at my best! To give credit where credit is due, I used some lyrics from Blindside's album "About a Burning Fire" ("All of us are searching for an open arm – well it's a shame how I curl up in the dark") and then used a single phrase from "The Great Depression" ("You must be bleeding under your eyelids tonight"). But that's all.

By the way – this story is not only going to get heavy, but pretty dirty too. If you've read any of my previous stuff, you'll know how I love to torture people in my stories (I only hurt the ones I love, lol) and so you can expect some rough situations ahead for the Titans. I can't wait to hear from you guys! Please review soon, and I'll catch up to you in chapter 2!

God bless and thanks for reading

Love Sherby


	2. Dark Waters

Vision 

**Sherbet Mayhem: **Hiya y'all, and thanks for returning for chapter two of "Vision". Ha ha because I write at home without the use of the internet, I don't even remember if I put this story up as "Vision" or "Visions"! I could just wait and check, but I think it's quite funny to let you guys know that :D haha, me a ditz! (My boyfriend informs me it's "Vision, singular" lol, maybe I should make that the title :D)

Well, welcome to chapter two! I'm so glad SOOOOOOO many people loved chapter one, lol. Meh. I'm sure popularity will pick up nods reassuringly to self yeah . . .

I'm really annoyed at the site, because it missed out, in the publication of chapter one, the vital star markers that signify a break in action (see my other stories, after a while you'll find a line break). However, I've noticed that straight lines seem to work, and although I prefer stars (because they make your eyes go funny . . .) I'll use lines. It annoys me because 13 pages without a break is a long haul for you guys. There were, for your info and personal gain, line breaks after the following lines in chapter one:

_What is this (after Raven's first vision)_

_It's Raven" (after Cyborg hears the noises)_

Raven doubted that she would go back to sleep tonight._ (after Cy and Robin wake her)_

Saying a quick goodnight to Robin, who moved toward the infirmary (after Robin fills in the others)

"I knew him and it nearly killed me" _(Raven sees the boy on the screen)_

"_There's more to come" (the last bit)_

Hope that helped – the line breaks make the story cliff-hangery, and without them I can understand if it lacked tension or enthusiasm. I apologise.

Well, I'll shut up now, and catch you guys at the bottom. Hope you enjoy Vision(s) two!

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Chapter Two – Dark Waters

"You _have_ to sleep!"

Beast Boy counted the days – and nights – in his head. As the sun beat down on his face, forcing him to squint his eyes to avoid the glare, the total of three made him shake his head in disapproval.

"It's been three nights! What are you, battery charged?"

He watched Raven's petite form glide through the air, her deep purple cape trailing behind her like an unwanted memory as she easily avoided a cackling electric wire that swung her way. Overload was causing a scene in Jump City. The Teen Titans had heard little from this particular electronic villain lately, and they were almost enjoying the task of stretching their forces to combat him.

Raven growled as she regained her balance. "No. How about you? Seems _you_ go on and on like a Duracell battery."

A chuckle from Cyborg (who was eavesdropping and loading the high power cannon on his arm simultaneously) caused Beast Boy to mumble an insult or two under his breath. He hated Raven's sarcasm; especially when it was directed at him.

"Come on, BB!" Cyborg noted his friend's cantankerous expression, "You asked for it!"

The metal man locked his cyber cannon onto the overgrown Overload, and the ground shook for a brief moment as all around was steeped in azure blue. The energy particles of the cannon hit Overload squarely in the centre – the precision of Cyborg's cannon was seldom below satisfactory level – yet Overload remained undamaged.

Starfire, floating in the midst of the cannon glow, watched the blue flood fade around them and felt the warm sunshine begin to heat her glossy hair again. Her lime eyes followed Overload, ostentatious in his swagger as he launched crackling cables left and right, aiming clumsily for her friends.

"Star!"

She heard his voice – she always did - and dropped down to floor level where Robin stood, watching her flight.

"Could you give me a lift up there?"

She frowned, and glanced at the masked Robin before answering. "You cannot touch him, friend Robin. He is an appliance of electricity. He will to you give the shocking, yes?"

Robin chuckled. "If I wasn't wearing these rubber soled boots and gloves, maybe. But if I only touch him with my feet and hands, I'll be fine."

"Is electricity scared of this 'rubber'?"

Before he could reply to the under-educated alien, Robin's attention was stolen by an awful groan from Overload. His swagger became a lurch, then a stagger as torrents of water were splayed over his head. Starfire was puzzled, and questioned Robin further.

"Robin, does the water contain the 'rubber'?"

He gave her a simple "No", being confused in his own mind about what was taking place, and he raced around the squealing Overload to the other side of the street. There, amidst the bright sunshine and the rainbow drops of water sprinkling around them, Raven and Cyborg watched the elephant form of Beast Boy torture the electric rogue by simply squirting him with liquid. Robin skidded to a halt, closely followed by Starfire, who watched the scene with a vaguely mystified countenance. Overload began to shrink under the pressure of the cool water.

To aid in the procedure, Cyborg moved over to a fire hydrant on the pavement, and booted the lid from it, releasing a cascade of more water, the froth still fresh on the head, as a beer drawn from a tap, as it shot toward Overload. In the sunlight, the water glimmered like stars in the day, and made a beautiful fountain, deadly as it was. Ignoring Overload's groans, it was a pleasant sight.

Flexing her fingers, Raven began to summon her telekinetic abilities. She knew, thanks to Cyborg's fire-hydrant display, that there were water pipes in the road beneath them. Putting aside the knowledge that she would wreck the tarmac by uprooting them from their cold slumber, she concentrated and began to pull the pipes from the ground. Cracks began to appear in the grey road surface, and Robin jumped out of the way nimbly as a pipe emerged from the ground in the manner of a snake rearing its venomous head. It spat at Overload, the toxin glittering and sparkling. Any flecks of water that escaped from their destined route Raven clutched at with her powers, and, when she had a bunch big enough, hurled them at Overload, spattering him with water bombs of the deadliest nature.

Soon, Overload had ceased to moan, and lay still, shrunk to his original "floppy disk" format and surrounded with water that glowed yellow in the sunlight. Robin picked up the sheet of rubber they'd brought with them in preparation for the electrical chip's capture, and threw it over the defeated desperado. Cyborg banged the lid back onto the fire hydrant, his face getting soaked in the procedure, and Raven put back to sleep the snake pipe she had controlled, moving various rocks and slabs of material into their original place to heal the road up again. The changeling Beast Boy resumed his original form, and Robin briefly explained the concepts of electricity and insulation to Starfire, who beamed as the cogs in her pretty mind turned. Soon, the police force, deeming it safe to continue, came out from hiding behind the nearby buildings to take Overload away. Once the van was locked up, Robin named the mission complete, and the team headed back to Titan's tower.

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Night fell quickly. The sun bled from the sky and slept all too soon for the Titans. Although, as Beast Boy had recalled in his attempts to persuade Raven to sleep, there had been no further disturbances in the dark of night, the entire team felt uneasy about letting her close her eyes for even a moment. Robin in particular felt a knot of dread every time he remembered it. Despite Raven suffering no more nightmares or injuries; he himself had awoken for the past three nights to the sound of her screams in his mind and the scratches on the back of his wet eyelids.

Sometimes, he believed he thought about things too much. Occasionally, he enjoyed the sensation of revelling in a memory – he had many he loved to surround himself with. Some of these were from his pre-Titan days and his work in Gotham City. Most were pleasant, juicy memories of his friends, some on sunny days, some on rainy nights, some were simply just thoughts that he told nobody about and never would. However, his volatile mind, while one moment treating him with a motorbike race with Cyborg, a cooking spree with Starfire, a deep, velvet discussion with Raven in the moonlight or an amusing training session with Beast Boy, was the next drowning him in forbidden memories, ones that slid in and swept his thoughts till all was covered with them and he could see nothing else. The smell of terror would come alive as he was smothered by his own memory, which he could not refuse, or control, as hard as he tried. Once the water came up to his knees, there was no way to swim from the fear stored in the back of his mind. And when he gave them just enough thought for them to cultivate, the shadow memories would kick him in the heart, remind him painfully of what he wanted so desperately to forget. His parents. Red X. Slade. Fights, lies, accidents, incidents, allegations.

Raven.

He watched her now as she sat quietly on the sofa in the centre of their living room, oblivious to the chatter around her ("No, Starfire, fungus and pizza do _not_ mix well!"), attempting to lose herself in the words of a book. He could see the effect of no sleep hanging underneath her eyes, and he knew she suffered from the same fickle memories as he did. The words, he knew, for her, were a lifejacket among the dark waters. If she wrapped herself in them, even for only a little while, she would be safe. Safe from what she could not look at.

"Not 'could not look at'. With her it's 'would not look at'." 

He could see her determination. It dulled her reflexes, made her eyes droop but kept her awake. Away from the waters. He understood.

She knew he was watching her. He didn't mind. It would keep her uneasy, on edge. Keep her eyes open.

"But the program is on soon, and I--"

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Starfire's plea, and the scent of warm pepperoni drifted into his body. He'd been thinking too much again.

With a final glance at Raven, who remained fixated upon the pages of her book, he joined the conversation. Grabbing a greasy slice of pizza (which was, he hated to admit, the most common meal at Titan's Tower) he listened to the argument that was taking place.

"Starfire, we're eating pizza. Then, we're eating desert. We do NOT want to watch a program about toe fungus!"

Cyborg's remarks caused a pained expression on Starfire's face. "No, please! Tonight does not feature the toes. It follows the exploits of the mucus in the ear!"

Beast Boy, who had been dangling a stringy piece of cheese into his mouth, gagged, and removed the yellow food.

"Thanks, Star."

She turned to Robin, her auburn hair flowing about her shoulders as she begged him to support her. "Robin, please! Defend my right to mucus!"

He sighed, with a smile. "She doesn't watch anything else all week guys. It's not her fault our meal coincided with her program."

"And it's not our fault either!" Cyborg insisted, swallowing a huge gulp of pizza before continuing. "I wanna enjoy my hard earned pizza! You think ear mucus helps that?"

Robin ran a hand through his hair. "Why don't we sit in the kitchen and eat while Starfire watches her show? She can join us when it's done, and we don't have to see any nasty mucus."

Letting out a relieved laugh, Beast Boy resumed eating his stringy cheese. "Good compromise, Rob!"

Starfire squealed. "Hooray! Now I can follow my show of mucus! And enjoy the pizza!" She snatched a piece and began to munch happily while searching for the remote. Cyborg and Beast Boy moved into the kitchen area, which was located to the right of the television and so would be out of danger of any off-putting imagery.

Robin stood up, his legs aching a little as he had been sitting with them curled up underneath him. He enjoyed umpiring the sometimes explosive arguments at the tower. Even recreationally he was a keeper of the peace. He glanced around, his eyes searching for whom he worried so much about, to make sure she followed them into the kitchen, where the light was bright and would keep her wakeful.

She was not on the sofa anymore, but all remaining was a book, the page she was up to folded gingerly in the corner to mark the place. Robin started, his mind leaping from the relatively calmer mood he had put himself in to the deep waters again, images banging across his eyes and making his heart pound.

"Raven?"

His voice was calm, but his chest felt as though it shook. The others turned around; even Starfire was concerned enough by the tone of his voice to wrench herself from her program. They saw the empty couch, the book, the lifejacket abandoned. They saw Robin's fear across his masked face, mimicking their own.

They leaped up from their seats, all feeling the slosh of the memories at their feet.

Robin gave them orders to search the areas of the tower, and they dispersed quickly, not wishing the water to rise before they could help.

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She stood in the shower cubicle with a slump to her posture. In the en-suite bathroom to the left of her bed, the towel she'd worn in the moments before she stepped into the shower lay on the floor, crumpled and lifeless as the clear water sprayed out of the showerhead and onto her pale, tired body. Steam rose from the top of the glass cubicle, and the heat of the room began to relax her exhausted senses.

Raven knew she couldn't go on like this.

"_You can't stay awake forever Raven. It's impossible."_

His words rang out clearer than she'd admit in her mind, and they clung to her eyelids, pulling them down, easing them into where they wished to lie. She shook her head, water droplets flying left and right from the tips of her deep purple hair. They spattered the walls of the cubicle like bullets, and the sound snapped her to. With a sigh, she reached for the shampoo.

"_If you go back to sleep, maybe we can figure out what's doing this to you…"_

Her teeth ground together. Did he think she didn't know that? That she should be brave and face up to her fear rather than run from it? Hide from it in this shower cubicle? Let the steam protect her naked body from what was waiting for her when she gave in?

"_I know – but how can I let myself drown of my own free will?"_

Water gurgled around her feet as it slipped through the plughole. She wished she could follow – it seemed safer down there, in the blackness. Safer than her own sleep. Safer than what her mind could offer.

"_I can't let it get me again. I can't."_

The shower continued to spray water onto her body. The steam continued to rise and cloud the room.

"_I mustn't. I've got to fight it."_

Water trickled down her shape, snaking down the undulations of her spine.

"_It will drown me. I do not want to drown."_

It splashed at the tiny pool beneath her feet. It pounded.

"_I must not drown. I must not let it pull me. I need to stay awake."_

It dragged at her face. It pulled at her hair.

"_I've got to breathe. I mustn't let it take me under. I must not drown."_

The water at her feet began to rise.

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Robin raced to her room. His feet felt heavy, as though he were pushing against some unknown force, some invisible tide. He had told Beast Boy to check the cellar, Starfire to check the roof, and Cyborg to check each of their rooms. He already knew where she would be. He wanted to find her.

He slammed open the door to her room with too much force and winced briefly as it crunched into the already damaged wall. The scratches still remained from…

"_From last time."_

He shook away the water in his own mind and dashed forward, his eyes on the bed. Her sheets had been changed. The dark purple ones had been ripped and torn apart too much to remain. Now the bed was lit with white sheets until they had a chance to buy some new ones that matched the room.

She was not there. She did not lie, as he had imagined, sleeping peacefully, nor strewn out and covered in her own blood across the sheets. There was nothing. No horror to greet his eyes. Just the plain sheets, and the sound of water running in the bathroom. He could see steam creeping out from the cracks in the door, hiding the dim bathroom light.

With a relieved sigh, and enjoying the sense of the water draining away from his mind, he sat down on the bed.

"You scared us, Raven," he said loudly so she could hear him from the bathroom. He was answered with only the dull hiss of the showerhead and the crawl of the steam.

Robin was accustomed to Raven's silences, but still, he spoke again, feeling as though an answer may simply relieve him of the fears that still crept in the dark corners.

"Didn't you want any pizza? You never ate."

The hiss of the showerhead. The crawl of the steam.

He stood, that terrible pounding beginning to beat in his heart again. Waves upon the rocks.

"Raven?"

The hiss of the showerhead.

"Raven!"

The crawl of the steam.

He watched the door, begging silently for an answer. And amid the hiss and the crawl, he saw one thing.

The door was locked.

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_I hear him pounding he tries to save me_

_My feet enveloped in water is the plug in it_

_It should drain_

_It is rising how can it rise the plug is not in it should not rise_

_Where_

_Chlorine a pool where is my shower_

"_There's more to come"_

_Not again no I can't I must not drown but the water is rising_

_It is at my knees what are these hands_

_Hands shoulders chlorine water_

_It does not pull me_

_I pushed_

_Hands_

_It is at my waist it is cold it freezes it does not pull I am pushed these hands_

_So cold it burns me please hear me pounding I hear you_

_Do not let me drown do not let him push me_

_Chlorine smell it burns at my stomach_

_My breasts_

_Hands_

_It is rising so quickly so cold fire freezes smoke creeps steam that crawls_

_I hear you pounding hear me drown I cannot let it take me please_

_It laps at me laps at my neck my mouth how to scream_

_How to scream when I cannot breathe_

_He pushes me I am struggling_

_Kicking biting breathing writhing groping grasping touching_

_Hands_

_Kick breathe you much not drown I must not drown he pushes so hard _

_Twisting it lasts forever forever will I not breathe I will choke forever_

_My eyes_

_It burns my eyes_

_I cannot breathe kicking_

_A wall of water please do not push_

_How can they see my tears in the water the chlorine the fire that freezes the steam that crawls_

_Pounding I hear you help me you know what I know_

_Hands burning breathe I cannot breathe I am the darkness_

_Breathe hands_

_Pounding cannot_

_Breathe_

_The water is darkness_

_Breathe_

_Breathe_

_I am the darkness_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

He pounded. He punched the door so hard his knuckles bled. He watched the small gold lock shudder under the pressure. He shuddered under his own pressure. He knew.

He knew.

"Raven, I'm coming!" he yelled, not knowing if she could hear him. There was no clock in her room but he could hear the seconds ticking. He knew he was running out of time. Her door was heavy and thick. It kept people out.

With one final blow the lock broke and clinked to the floor, scintillating in the misty atmosphere. He snatched at the handle and tore the door open, almost ripping it off its hinges. His rubber-soled shoes gripped the floor desperately as he darted into the room, using his hands to wave the steam in front of his face away. He could see the cubicle. He could see her. Modesty mattered not at the moment. He could see her towel on the floor, dead.

Robin could not comprehend what he saw.

She stood in the shower, her arms raised, revealing her pale naked form. If he looked closely, Robin could still see the scratches from the last time. He expected to see water trickling down her skin, down her body, along her arms, curving down her breasts, onto her waist and thighs.

There was no trickling water.

The cubicle was full to the top with water. The glass compartments were fitted into the room and so reached the ceiling. The water reached all the way up. It was a liquid prison. Raven was drowning. She did not move. Her eyes stayed shut. He saw red marks on her shoulders. Her hands gripped thin air.

He glanced through the translucent water to the plughole at her feet. It was unplugged. The water should be draining. It remained.

A wall of water.

Thinking quickly and ignoring the tide of water that swept towards him in his own mind, he sprung forward, grabbing the handle of the cubicle. The door was stiff, but Robin tugged it open quickly, squinting his eyes in preparation for the flood of water that would spring upon him.

It did not.

It stood before him, real water, remaining in that prison-like position, the rectangular shape of the cubicle. He couldn't find air for a moment.

"_How…?"_

His friend remained still in the open cubicle, walled in by the cruel waters around her, as though she were frozen in a block of ice. The steam continued to rise around them both. Robin closed his eyes and tried to think.

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_What do I do she's drowning how the hell is the water staying up_

_I have to save her I can't let her drown but the water has stayed up how_

_It's a vision it's another one this one will kill her if I don't stop thinking too much_

_Robin think do not wander do not drown in your own but think_

_It's just water_

_You can reach in and take her out_

_You can save her if you don't drown now_

_Reach in and take her out_

_Reach in_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

He did. He plunged his hands into the water with a cry from the depths of his throat. Despite the steam, the water was ice cold. It burned his fingers in their rubber gloves. It made his arms feel tight and stiff. He quickly pulled out his hands and removed his gloves, in case they were burning him. They were not. It was the cold water. The steam was a mask. He thrust his hands back in again.

His groping fingers found her waist, and he clumsily manoeuvred his hands until he had a firm grip on her. Her skin was smooth to the touch, and for the briefest of moments his mind allowed him a glimpse of one of his thoughts; a light in the dark waters of his head. It flashed away as quickly as it came, but it made him more determined to get her out.

He pulled, and gripped hard with his frozen fingers. And she came, her body moving easily though the water as though she were streamlined and designed for this. When she moved, the water wall began to collapse around her. It fell onto them both as Robin tore her away from the vision and out of the prison, out of the cubicle, and they were swept onto the bathroom floor by the heavy cold water.

The steam continued to crawl.

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Beast Boy heard Robin's cries from down in the basement. The torch in his hand dropped as he morphed into an eagle, and he flew upstairs as fast as the air would let him.

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Starfire, up on the roof, heard banging below her, and muffled cries. She knew it was Robin. She always heard him. She could sense the fear in his voice. Her heart leaped to her throat, and she swung round and flew down the stairs towards Raven's room.

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Cyborg was in Starfire's room when he heard it.

"_Robin. He's found her. He's found Raven."_

He left Starfire's closet open in his rush to get to Raven's room. It was just down the corridor, and his thunderous steps echoed in the dimming light. He arrived at her room, the source of the pounding and Robin's cries, at the same time as Starfire and Beast Boy. They swapped anxious, frightened glances before diving in through the already open door. The light of the bathroom was open, and they all noticed the liquid seeping out of the shower room. Raven's bedroom itself was steamy and difficult to see.

Starfire moved forward first, hovering tentatively over the water, her mind whirring. She reached the entrance to the bathroom, looked in, and dropped her hands from her chest to her side.

"No . . ."

Cyborg and Beast Boy followed her warily, their stomachs quivering; sweat clinging to them as rain to a window. They watched the scene with fear across their faces.

They lay sprawled in the middle of the bathroom floor, which was soaked, saturated with water. Steam floated all around, shadowing the scene. Robin clutched Raven around the middle, his gloves lying in a heap on the floor. Raven's pale skin almost blended with the colour of the bathroom tiles. Her hair clung to her face like a leech, and she was naked, her body now dripping with beads of water. Robin, who was speaking to her quietly, propped up her head, focusing on her face. Beast Boy listened, but he could not hear what was said.

A shudder took her cold body, and the eyes snapped open. The pupils were tight and small, almost drugged, and the irises darted around the room in panic. Her chest convulsed.

Gasping, Robin pulled her into a sitting position, his own face covered with droplets of the water. His eyes did not leave her face as she vomited water onto him, the same water that had held her in place, in limbo. She squinted her eyes shut, and her limp hands, blue at the fingertips, raised, her fingers searching for something to hold onto. They found Robin's shoulders, and as her lungs pulled in their first gasp of shaking air, she clung to him, shivering harder than she knew she could. Water dripped from her hair onto her body but she did not care. She was unaware of anything around her.

Cyborg glanced at the shower, his mouth robbed of its words by this display, and noticed the showerhead begin to glow black, as well as the cubicle door. As he watched, the door slammed shut, tight, and the showerhead exploded within the cubicle. Water trickled down the glass doors.

Robin just held her, at a total loss for words. His mind spoke to him.

"_You didn't drown. You reached in and you saved her."_

His face scrunched up, and he fought back tears.

"_You saved her."_

He pulled the shaking girl in closer. She was so cold, so wet. He could feel her chest rising and falling in shudders. She was crying.

"It's ok, Raven," he muttered, more to himself than to her, "I saved you. You didn't drown. I saved you."

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**Sherbet Mayhem: **And that's a wrap folks. Lol, this chapter was meant to be about something totally different but it never came out that way! Lmao! Hehe! I just forced my boyfriend to read it :p how evil is that? Lol.

So . . . yeah! Hope you liked it! I liked it a lot – I'm pleased with how it came out. At parts it sounded a bit Golding, if you know what I mean (William Golding, Lord of the Flies), and he's such a great author so I liked sounding like him! Lol!

It's my 19th birthday today :D

Did you guys notice the aquatic semantic field I had going? Lol, Englishy terms are funny. Hope you liked as much as I did! Please review and get your friends and other people to read and review because I can't deal with writing of this standard getting three reviews for a chapter and absolutely rubbish writing that other peoples do getting like eighty four for a chapter just because they know people.

Should I change the rating, people? And also, could you let me know if you'd like a Rob/Rae to happen in this story? I'm not sure if I will – it definitely wouldn't be a big theme, just an underlying one? Or sulks are you all Starfire fans? BOOOO!

Sam (my boyfriend): I think you shouldn't because I like Starfire and Robin.

Sherby: Shut up --

Sam: silence

Sherby: Well, please read and review! I'm sorry for the fairly slow update, but you have to understand, my chapters are long, I work in a shop and I'm going to university! I'm a busy girl! I try to write when I can but sometimes I just don't have time or am not in the mood. Please be patient – I will ALWAYS update. Never again shall I leave a story unfinished like Darkness Falls. That is now my gremlin. We shall never speak of it again. (Lindsay, it's coz I stopped watching Beyblade, coz I didn't have toonami! I couldn't write about it anymore!)

Anyways, I shall stop rambling! Please, pass the word that this story is out and get people to read it – I dearly appreciate the reviews I already have, but it's thin pickings, if you get my drift.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Speak to ya in chapter three, or if anyone has any comments or queries, catch me at bless x x x x x x x x

Jen x x x x x x x x

Next chapter: The Mirror...


	3. The Mirror

**Sherby**: I know, I know…it's been ages…I've been so unbelievably busy with university work though. I'll try to keep updating as often as I can but this is my first free night in an age! I promise I'll try and keep the updates as regular as possible from now on, but I really am sorry about the wait.

Have fun, see ya at the bottom!

I'd like to point out that I wrote this chapter whilst I was on the train from York to Liverpool, and in that period I managed to choke severely on a drink and make a total show of myself. I was choking and everyone was looking at me and I sorted myself out and went "Good grief! It's been a long weekend" HAHAHA I'm such an embarrassment! I got Lilt all down my front as well! HAHA! Look at what I go through for you guys! (I'd also like to point out that some horrid common people stared at me like hell as I was choking, and looked vaguely amused at my predicament)

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Chapter Three – The Mirror (That's the Way)

The toothbrush moved in and out of his dry mouth. He wet it with some water from a nearby glass. It was warm on his tongue. The bristles moved reluctantly along his fangs as he forced them into submission roughly, crushed them onto the whites of his teeth. They slid along as his mouth became moister, the water gelling with the toothpaste and leaving a crisp, sharp, almost stinging taste. The stiff bristles gave in and moved more gently without struggling. He dominated the battle between himself and the seditious toothbrush – her resistance was no match for his own strength. Once he was satisfied, he coarsely spat out the remainders of the fight, the toothbrush dripping tears into the cold sink as he rinsed his mouth clean. He then washed the toothbrush, demolishing the memory. He left no trace of himself as he left the bathroom.

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"_And then I say to you that nothing really matters, but all you do is stand and cry…"_

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She hadn't left her room. From the moment Cyborg had covered her shivering modesty with a warm towel she had been painfully aware of the others' gazes upon her body. She had whimpered, and before they could stop her, she had disappeared from Robin's caring arms, transforming into a manipulated black raven, the ghostly apparition she was blessed with, and dropping through the floor. The instant she'd seen her own naked soaked arms, greyer than always, clinging to Robin as though he'd done her some big favour, she'd been unable to stand herself. She ran.

He had watched her slide away into the shadowy form of the raven in his grasp, and as she slid away from them, clothed in sheer black flame, his fists crunched together and he stormed out of the bathroom, the steam noosing about his neck and infecting his lungs. He knew not to follow the girl. He knew he couldn't. He didn't want to. He didn't want to find her choking. Drowning. Bleeding. Screaming.

He moved to the roof, where he was soon joined by the rest of the team. Starfire gripped his shoulder as he cried silently, allowing the water that had stained his body to escape down his cheeks. The summer night dried them onto his face but he wiped them off brashly.

"It's pitiful," said Beast Boy quietly, truthfully. They all agreed.

"She needs us," Cyborg shook his head. His eye flashed gingerly. "She can't do this on her own."

"I do not understand," said Starfire, her lime orbs focussed on the silent Robin, who stared out across the peaceful Jump City. How many times had Raven served to help the people of this city; and yet none could help her?

"I do not understand the nature of these 'Visions'," her voice broke the soft air, "I do not understand why she hurts. Why does she see things that are to happen in the future?"

"Is it the future?" Beast Boy jumped in, "Or the past?"

"The first one – the scratches…" Cyborg said as he watched the sky, "they seemed to tell us what happened to James Lowson."

He referred to the discovery Robin and Raven had simultaneously made as she turned on the television screen those nights ago. James Lowson worked in a zoo, and had been mauled by a leopard. His body had been discovered on the pathway next to the animal's cage. A huge tear scowled across his throat; he had died quickly and painfully, hours earlier.

And Raven had seen it.

She had not been there. Not physically. She had seen it. She had felt it. She'd felt the blood stains. She _had_ been there.

Somehow.

These facts whirred around the air, quicker than the lights from the houses. The night air was drawing in swiftly, carpeting the world. It would soon be time for sleep.

"Seems more likely that she's seeing the past," Cyborg concluded, "And if that's the case…somebody just drowned."

Again he stated what everybody was thinking. Nobody liked it.

"We need to speak to her about it. We need to figure this out!" Beast Boy said quietly, watching the hypnotic lights of the city. "We need to get in her head and just…"

Silence descended upon them in the uncomfortable way that it favoured; blanketed them softly as though to comfort them despite its awkward presence – as if to apologise. Robin suddenly felt he would prefer the noise over the silence. It hadn't always been the case.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Raven still preferred silence. She was so accustomed to it by now! How was she possibly to endure any other sort of atmosphere? She had been born from darkness; from submissive silence (excluding many a whimper from the doomed Arella as Trigon took what he deemed was his) into reclusive silence. Into darkness.

She materialised in her dark room, noting that the door to the en-suite was hovering open, so the lines of dull light watched her still; eyes boring into her. She shut it with a trembling hand – moving over to the door physically rather than closing it with her telekinesis; how was she to trust her levels of self control when they had let her down so painfully, so dangerously in the cubicle minutes before? Moments ago she had been dying, wrapped in swaddling and pleading to be set free. Her captor's face manifested in her eyes; behind them, watching her as she thrashed under the surface, her lungs straining fruitlessly for release. Her hair, so kind in hiding her face from the reality she loved to avoid, had taunted her, laughing and poking at her eyes as it had accepted the mastery of the water. She had been destined to drown. She had stared up at his empty, black eyes and cried in her throat.

Then there was Robin. Those empty black eyes had undergone a metamorphosis and developed, like a shady negative in a dark room blossoming into a beautiful image, into those of Robin; those hands that had imprisoned her with such aggression and force had melded into his frantic, desperate grasp, and he had pulled her to freedom. She had given up hope long before he had found her in the depths.

Yet when she had taken a breath again, it was painful, like that of a newborn emerging from the deadly womb, and she had resisted the urge to cry out. She knew she couldn't. Her throat had cried too much. Still she had felt heavy with shame. It had surrounded her as the silence surrounded those on the rooftop, watching the lights of the city. It was too much. The worried gaze of her friends was nothing more than accusation. They did not want to save her; it was obligation. It was necessary. She was nothing more than a cog in a machine, where all of the other cogs were well loved. She was not well loved.

She sank onto her bed, her heart laden in her ribs, beating softer than she liked. The room was dark – and she rocked within it. It held her, smiling, knowing how she felt. It brought danger – this she knew, but she could not face their cold stares. Robin had not even chased her. He had been glad she had gone.

"He should have left me there," she said softly, tears rolling down her cheeks, still dappled with water from the shower. "They do not need me here."

Her eyes pierced the darkness with their lavender glow. They were weary with sleep deprivation. They did not want to see; not _their_ eyes, not their silent opinions; but they could not help but see through any darkness that they were presented with. They would continue to see where she did not wish to look. And now, they took her back to the shower, to the face of the man who held her under.

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"What did you say?" Cyborg broke the heaviness suddenly. Beast Boy looked over at him, his own eyes bright in the fading light of the tired sun, who had seen enough evil for the day, and wished to hide in the darkness.

"What, dude?"

"What did you just say?"

Beast Boy watched his friend, confused. "I said we need to figure this out!"

"No!" Cyborg growled, the city lights glinting in his infra red eye. "You said we need to get inside her head!"

The changeling watched the tin man with a heart for some moments before his eyes responded in the way Cyborg wanted them to. "In her mind!"

Starfire watched the two in a confused manner, her body language expressing her confusion as she scratched her chestnut hair. "What…do you speak of?"

They both knew now; they knew from memory, and they both pictured what they had seen in earlier days; the jagged, craggy rocks that hung in midair, the scenery around them changing drastically in flashes as her mood darkened and ripened, and the dangerous, deceptive emotions, with their manipulating faces and lying fronts. They knew her mind all right; they had been inside it.

Beast Boy quickly explained what had happened in their past to Starfire, who watched with curiosity. They told of the mirror that they had come across in novelty, which had pulled them into the dimensions of her mind, and their battle with Trigon, Raven's dark side, the side she meditated to protect them from. The side she could not release or allow control.

Robin turned as soon as they finished the tale. "You think the answers lie in her mind?"

"Where else?" said Beast Boy plaintively. "We have nowhere else to look!"

"But, friend," Starfire broke in, "the last time you entered Raven's mind, you did so without her permission. What convinces you that she will give it this time?"

Beast Boy's face fell momentarily. "I…I don't know. Maybe we can just sneak in, like last time?"

"No," said Robin, the lights behind him glowing about his shadowy form, the sun setting to the west, "We need her to let us. We need an all access pass."

He paused, watching his friends, his body still dripping chilly water despite the warm air of the evening.

"And I'll be the one to get it."

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He gazed into the pool, eyes fractured by what he saw in there. It chilled him. Chilled him more than the wind, like a cloak of ice. His stare was dictated by every move in the rippling, glistening, beautiful pool.

Eyes watched back, and nearby, six tiny ravens flew from the desolate skeleton of a tree into the reddening sky.

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"No."

"Raven, please, it's for your own good!"

"No."

"We're only trying to help!"

Her eyes glinted as she sat on the edge of the bed. He had interrupted her memory. She had been once again in the grasp of the stranger who held her under, gripped her shoulders so tightly that she couldn't feel his fingers; whose features lay muffled by the mask of the water as she choked and cried.

He was gone again – they only seemed to meet for brief moments – and now she was protecting the privacy of her mind from Robin as he attempted to enter it.

"But Raven…"

He trailed off, and she knew the others were listening outside her heavy metal door. Robin stood directly in the centre of the room, while she sat comfortably on the soft bed with its new sheets. Scratches still remained along the ceiling and floor.

"Robin…"

He paused, waited for her response…her continuation. She did not. He knew the others were listening…but…

"Raven…we just want to help you…" he searched for the words, knowing he was on dangerous ground. "Do you know how much…it hurts to…to see you like this?"

She looked down, her purple bangs hanging into her eyes. She did not blink them away. Robin didn't understand that.

"We need you."

She scoffed quietly at that. The room was heavy, cold. The bathroom was shut off now. The steam did not creep. All was still; frozen.

"Yeah, you need me," she said from beneath her bangs of hair, her voice crisp and unbroken, "I'm just another part of the Teen Titans machine, right?"

"Raven--"

She watched his face beneath her mask. She imagined his eyes, how scornful they must be beneath that mask.

"And I guess it wouldn't matter who you had really. I could be Raven, or Terra, or anybody. As long as the precious team keeps going…keeps helping people…then you're ok, right?"

"No, Raven…" his voice was weak with surprise.

"But when the parts start to grind, when things don't oil as well; that's why you're concerned, isn't it? Because your precious team might fall apart."

He watched her, unable to speak. Did she honestly believe that? What had they done to convince her she was just a part in a machine?

"I'm just…necessary, aren't I?" her voice softened and broke a little.

He wept inside. He wept for her grey cynicism. He wept for her dead outlook. He wept for her sad heart and shining eyes.

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"What's going on in there?"

Cyborg hushed Beast Boy quickly, his ear pressed to the door.

"I can't hear…"

"Cyborg, you're half robot – surely you've got an amplifier somewhere on your person…"

He chuckled. "I was hoping not to resort to it…but…"

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She watched him, as he stood in silence, watching her back.

"_Why is he still here"_

Was he trying to defeat her? To break the silence? She'd said the truth, and it had cracked the room.

His mouth was dry. His hair felt as though it clung to him unnaturally. He felt as though he were part of some old photograph…frayed and dog-eared at the edges and unfamiliar to those who looked.

"Raven…" he said, wincing at the sad sound of his own voice. "I just wanted you to know…that…"

He took a breath, his fingers numb. "I love the way you laugh."

The silence glared at them painfully in the moment that followed his dry words.

"And…"he continued, fighting the stares from the silence, his feet nervous, "I…we… just want to hear you laugh again."

She knew he watched as she blinked her eyes fast shut. And suddenly, without him realising it, the tiny mirror floated into Robin's grasp. He gripped it with his numb fingers.

"I don't know what to say," he murmured.

"Just come back soon," she whispered, her bangs hiding her face completely. She turned away, a clear gesture to Robin to leave the room.

_I'll be alone and that's the way I like it_

_He likes how I laugh_

_How_

_HOW_

_He can go in and look and see that he won't like my laugh soon_

_He won't like any of me at all he'll just see what there is of Raven_

_I told him there are parts of me he shouldn't see long ago_

_When we thought the worst was over and we could breathe_

_He likes the way I laugh_

_He likes the way I laugh_

_He likes the way I laugh_

_He likes_

_How long has it been since I laughed_

She listened for him leaving, but heard no such sound. Where was the metal, clanging shut in depressing safety? The claustrophobic sense of comforting loneliness?

His hand on her shoulder unnerved her.

"I want to take this away from you," he said firmly, softly, to the girl who turned her back on the bed. "I feel like you've been gone for a long time."

He could see her tears dropping onto the bed. The dark sheets turned unhappily darker as she breathed forcedly in and out.

"I wish you'd just talk to us, Raven," he continued, listening to her breathe, "You're not part of a machine. You're our friend. I thought you knew that."

"Don't you get tired of helping me out of these stupid situations?"

"None of that matters. We all love you as a friend. That's the way it should be."

She wept openly now, the nights of frightened wakefulness and fatigue slashing open her tear ducts, the earlier events tearing her heart, and breaking her inside. She raised a hand to her face to hide, her hair feeling too transparent a mask. After all, Robin could see her tears. She wished to catch them, hide them, push them back inside with her grey, cold fingers. Her body resisted the urge to curl.

Her fingers pressed into her tired, pitiful tears, the droplets evading their captors and slipping onto her cheeks. She felt Robin's hand wrap around her own.

"Nothing you've done…nothing you will ever do… will break us apart. Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and myself…we want what's best for you. We want to hear you laughing again."

She offered a watery smile from behind her hand. "I never laughed much to begin with."

He smiled back at her softly. "That's what makes it so special when you do."

Her eyes swung around through the barrier of straight purple hair and met his mask.

_Wish I knew what he was really thinking_

Suddenly, without her realising he'd moved to do so, Robin slipped his mask off _What?_. Her eyes widened but she made no sound as she gazed into his abruptly more 'human' eyes, which lay concealed to all _Am I the first to see this_ until now. The irises were a strange mix of green and grey, not the spectacular blue ones she'd always imagined _How often have I thought about his eyes _but still strangely absorbing and hypnotic. The skin around them glistened with _he's been crying_ their own tears.

"Just so you can see for yourself…" he said, his eyes holding her gaze _They're so unusual_, "how much I care about you…not "the team", but you…it kills me – kills all of us – to see you broken."

She did not speak – she did not wish to; but merely stared at his face. No longer was he "Boy Wonder" Robin, with his vaguely pre-pubescent figure and serious work ethic. By simply removing a mask, he was an entirely new person, with a soul in his strange eyes. He seemed like a man _as opposed to little friend Robin_ and she liked what she saw.

Finally, she realised she must be making him awkward, and she looked down at his hand. "Promise you'll fix me?"

"I promise."

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Beast Boy listened intently through Cyborg's amplifier, the pointed edged of his green ears pricking at the sound of the pair inside.

"Sounds like…"

"She said 'yes'!" Cyborg grinned happily. "Rob's a genius."

"Yeah…" Beast Boy smiled half-heartedly, "real genius."

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Starfire held her down, crying for Beast Boy and Cyborg to help. The girl's eyes flashed green in terror and she screamed for her thrashing friend to cease.

"Help! It's…it's another one!"

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_Get off me this is not yours you have no right_

_You cannot take this it is mine_

_Please leave me alone do not touch me no you were my friend_

_Please stop you mustn't STOP he is not listening to me_

_I trust you I know you won't_

_Will he believe that will it stop him_

_No I trust you you will not take me you will not I know you you you won't hurt me you won't use me_

_Why are you with him_

_No please no help me somebody_

_Why aren't they listening_

_He will not break me I won't let him_

_Oh God it hurts so much he hurts that's mine give it please don't take it why _

_These chains are cold on my wrists_

_It hurts I must be bleeding I can't cry I already am_

_Where are you_

_You said you wanted me to laugh well how do I laugh at this_

_He said he'd steal my pain but oh God this hurts why is he hurting me_

"Robin!"

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Robin stared at the pool before him in the barren land of Raven's mind. He was in Nevermore. The craggy reddish rocks surrounded him, bored into his own mind and he felt crushed. What he saw in the pool made him want to be sick. It wasn't clear, but he knew what he saw, what he heard. It hurt his ears, stung his eyes, sunk into the crevices of his mind where he knew they would stay and return, like the flooding water always did.

If this was the future, he had to stop it. He couldn't let this happen to her.

He gazed into the pool, wondering if he was seeing right. Was he in the middle of a vision? To his left, a girl in a green hooded cloak with purple hair watched him. He knew she was there.

"She tries to be brave," the girl said in a voice hauntingly similar to Raven's own.

"But it's so hard, because…" another girl, in a grey cloak with timid huge eyes shivered. Robin could hardly comprehend what he saw in the murky water.

"Has this pool always been here?" he asked, attempting to keep his voice despite the harrowing noises emitting from the scenes reflected in the water.

"No," said one in a pink cloak, "It used to be my playground. But it just appeared one day. It's pretty deep."

Robin peered over the edge, the smell of damp reaching his nostrils. He saw her face, eyes wide open, searching wildly for help as dark hands slid over her face, her neck, body…he could not see her attacker. He could only see her, clearly, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes and crawling down her face like children marching.

_I will change her future I will not let this happen_

As he stared in, his face gradually moving closer and closer to the image her feared, he felt unexpected hands upon his back, and then he was in the pool, water shrouding his head viciously. He gasped for air, having almost empty lungs, and struggled with some strength as his own assailant grasped his shoulders so tight he could not feel the fingertips. He glanced up and tried to see the face of the attacker, but could not – the water was a cloud. Robin struggled and spluttered under the water, his legs booting the liquid mist about himself. His lungs screamed and his throat burned and wept for freedom. And for some reason, all he could picture was Raven, trapped in her shower cubicle, eyes closed as if in death.

As his image began to blur, Robin felt the grip loosen, and a hand plunged through the wall of water to pull him out. He grasped it frantically and was pulled upwards, his head breaking the surface like the wind breaks through the leaves on a tree branch, and inhaled sharply. The girl in the green cloak had saved him.

"Who held me under?" he spluttered with some difficulty once his breath had begun to return and his heart ceased to pound.

"Rage," replied one girl in a yellow cloak, eyes masked with thick glasses. "She's entirely uncontrollable."

Under a jagged rock a few metres away, four red eyes glared at him, watched as the water dripped from him. Before he could say anything, he became aware of Starfire's voice calling loudly through Nevermore.

"Robin! Robin help! ROBIN!"

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Sherby: You know the drill people! Review me please! I'm sorry for the age old update! Hope you liked this chapter – a bit shorter than the rest, and I owe credit to Seether feat. Amy Lee, Broken, and Led Zeppelin for That's the Way.

God bless x x x

Sherby xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	4. After You're Gone

**Sherbet Mayhem: **Hey guys, and welcome to chapter four of Visions! I'm so incredibly sorry for the huge wait – I've just lost interest in writing recently, but it's coming back to me again.

When I read the incredibly positive reviews that you guys gave my last chapter it made me so happy – reviews fuel my writing so much you know. They make me want to update and give me such amazing motivation! Thank you so much – you loyal followers you; you really don't know how much your reviews mean to me and I appreciate every second of time you spend both reading and reviewing my writing. I just hope I don't disappoint! I'll do my best!

Here's chapter four then, and I'm hoping you'll all enjoy it as much as you seemed to enjoy chapter three. I'll try and keep the updates a little bit more regular from now on, but if I don't update for an age it really is due to a mix of writer's block and a lack of free time. University is a lot harder than I ever expected – well, it's not really difficult work, it's just so much of it! I would advise people to take English for their degree though – it's so challenging and rewarding and you get to be the cool kids who sit in the coffee shops and drink and discuss books and theories and things and it's rather excellent!

I'll shut up now and get on with the next chapter! I hope you like it – please take the time to let me know what you think at the end of it by clicking on the old review button – ha I nearly wrote 'mutton'. Yes, click on the mutton. I know I will :D

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Chapter Four – After You're Gone

Robin slammed his fist into the wall. Again. Again. A small grey dint appeared beneath his anger. He growled.

"Find her."

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She placed the mirror on the dresser quietly, aware that all eyes were upon her yet again. She'd lost count of how many times she had stolen the limelight from the villains of Jump City in the past three or four days. It was difficult. She was no actress. She did not like the attention.

What did they want to know from her? She'd let them into her mind to find answers and all they'd returned with were questions! Was there no way to win? Their heavy, expectant breathing filled the room and she sighed.

"If you're asking about the last vision – I don't know who it was. There's no way I can find out. Why are you still asking me?"

Robin's mind briefly flickered back to the moments he had spent in Raven's mind swearing his own vows _I will change her future I will not let this happen I said the pool before me the vision happening and I swore I'd protect her from that_

Yet Cyborg's comments of earlier puzzled him _"Seems more likely that she's seeing the past"_. It was true – she had seen Lowson's death moments after it had happened. Yet there was still the vision in the shower to be explained. He had told all he had seen in the pool in the dark crevices of Raven's mind, but had spoken not of his encounter with Rage, her fiercest emotion; how she had plunged him under the water, thrust him right into her vision and made him scream silently for liberation. He hadn't even told Raven. She seemed _blissfully?_ unaware.

So what had he seen in the pool? It was assault – he was mature enough to recognise that. Furthermore it was an assault on Raven – the hands, sliding over her body as though they owned her, dark as night and unrecognisable – proved it. The image of her tears stamped itself in her mind ruthlessly _as if I haven't seen enough of her tears recently_ and he attempted to concentrate on the present situation.

Starfire had called him out of Nevermore, the collective name for the entire of Raven's physically accessible mind. He pondered briefly at the name _Why Nevermore it sounds so sad _but again shook his thoughts clear to focus himself.

_Starfire had called me out of Nevermore_

with a voice stabbed with sounds of alarm and panic. He'd left quickly – Raven had explained the route to the exit doors briefly before he had entered and he had little trouble finding it. The décor of jagged, snarling red rocks and a deep purple, depressing sky had given him little incentive to stay. The resident emotions personified of her mind were hardly welcoming either. They'd done their best to make him feel uncomfortable and unwelcome – not to mention Rage's spiteful attack. In fact

_Starfire had called me out of Nevermore_

and he'd exited quickly hearing the panic in her voice. He was finding it difficult to focus. He'd arrived in Raven's bedroom alone; the others were all in the living room it seemed.

The scene had not been a pleasant one. The strong Starfire, gifted with alien strength, was pinning Raven down with a degree of frightened alarm by her wrists, and the machine-like Cyborg held her thrashing legs. Beast Boy watched, stunned into silence it seemed, by what was happening. Raven, unable to control herself when in the throes of a vision, was re-enacting what Robin had seen in the pool. Unlike the previous visions, she was speaking clearly.

"You cannot take this! It's mine!"

She kicked her strong, toned legs viciously, her lips dragged back in a dog snarl.

"Please! No! Help me, somebody! I won't let him!"

Her words ripped sharply through the air as she struggled, and Robin strained his ears to hear Starfire over the tortured girl's desperate screams.

"Robin, if we do not hold her, she will hurt us!"

"Yeah!" added Cyborg, growling as he gripped the girl's legs with his massive hands, his eyes squinted as if having them closed tighter would keep the situation under control. "She came in here, was talkin' to us normally, and then she went for Beast Boy! Hands, teeth, it was crazy!" His voice was high, his words flew fast.

Robin glanced at Beast Boy, who shook as he stood staring near the television screen. His bright eyes betrayed him. He was not afraid. Robin knew how much eyes could tell a person.

"In her mind I could see this happening. What she's seeing. I could see it. She's being assaulted by somebody."

In listening to Robin, Starfire loosened her grip on Raven's wrist; the moment she had enough strength, her hand was up and clawing at Starfire angrily, frenziedly.

"These chains are so cold! How am I supposed to _laugh_ at this?"

The words sounded familiar to Robin as he ran over and fixed his hands on her face. He stared at her. Eyes tight shut, tears stealing out and trooping on. Teeth ground in an animalistic fashion. Sweat leaking from every pore, her skin clammy and bogged down by frightened hair that clung.

"It…it hurts…"

He remembered what he saw by the pool – on the rocks, on the walls, the floor.

Words.

Carved into every accessible crevice and surface. In bright white, hurried, sharp letters. Her thoughts. They were forever contained in her mind. Beast Boy had not mentioned this to him.

He was there suddenly, his hands clamped onto her face but his eyes staring at the frightening words about him, scrawled for none to understand, grouped according to context;

"Will it _stoP_ him?" "YOU weRe NeVer my _father_"

"Blood rAin, bloOD reign" "_i am_ thE bLood"

"MalCHioR!" "YoU thiNK i'm _BeaUTiFul?_"

"Zinthos" "MEditAte"

"NoNe of that mATters" "i'M just…necessary…" "I just Want tHis day to END"

"PrOmiSE you'll FIX me?" "Come back _soon_" "He likes The way I LAUGH"

He watched the words, lit by the fading light, and sighed. How could one person retain such hurt in their mind? Why did it stay with her always to torment her? At least in his own mind, the waters receded occasionally to relieve him; even (albeit rarely) bringing pleasantries now and again. How could she live with her mind constantly in the past?

He realised frankly that he too was in the past, and shifted to what was now. He held her face tightly in his gloved hands, and if he looked closely he could see his own face in the tears that inked her skin, sweat poring from his own features as he yelled words he had not planned.

"Raven, wake up! Break it off and _wake up_!"

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He searched her room. All he found was the empty breath of darkness and moths. He longed for her eyes. His fingers itched to touch her skin. He wanted to enclose her, tie her up, manipulate. He ached for the rising of the hairs on her skin as fear smiled back at him, the exposure of terror pimples on her grey arms as realisation swallowed her whole.

A door slammed downstairs, and he slipped into the shadows. His eyes whitened the darkness.

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As her eyes clicked open, she grew aware of his hands gripping her face, so tight, so tight. She held in a bitter laugh as she took in her surroundings. His worried face consumed most of her vision, but the others were there too, watching, concern scribbled in their eyes. Before they could question her, she spoke, dryly.

"I guess that makes three."

Dry tears lay on her face, and Cyborg, always the brother, watched on quietly as she began to pull herself to her feet. Her back straightened slowly, and her hands wiped the stiffness from her cheeks. Robin gave her space.

"And this time, I wasn't asleep."

She glanced around, glanced at each of the other Titans, not sadly, but grimly. Her eyes paused briefly upon Beast Boy, whose face was brimming with an odd look, and then let her gaze rest upon Robin.

"Find anything?"

_How is she so calm I saw what was happening to her_

"Uh...not much in the shape of answers, I'm afraid. I met a few of your doubles, and I found a huge pool which-"

"Forget the pool," she snapped sharply, her eyes shooting back to Beast Boy momentarily. "Anything useful?"

Starfire watched Robin, rubbing her own hands which hurt from clawing and tearing at her friend moments ago. He shook his head, and her heart fell further.

Before any more could be said or though, the Titan alarm rang unfamiliar through the house. It had been weeks; months, since the shrill siren had claimed priority over the sounds of continuing life in the house, and it shot through them brusquely.

Cyborg moved swiftly to the computer panel, not having forgotten the old ways. His huge metal fingers tapped away at the resilient keys till the location of the suspected crime was revealed.

Robin took command – he was leader; it was his unresented position. After identifying the hot spot, he turned to Raven, who watched the screen with bloodshot eyes.

"You are to stay here Raven."

Her eyes narrowed, as he knew they would. "And that is...why?" Tight lips.

Beast Boy answered quickly, his fangs glinting in his mouth as he spoke. "You just had a vision. You're weak. You'd be no help. You'd just get hurt."

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So she stayed.

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Robin, Cyborg and Starfire agreed to tackle the source of trouble in the city centre – there was no name attached to the symbol that appeared on their screen, so the villain remained unidentified until they reached the location of the trouble. After he had convinced Raven to stay, he appointed Beast Boy the task of checking her bedroom and the shower, and then the couch in the living room for bugs, gadgets, or anything that could have triggered the strange visions Raven was suffering. He was to take care of Raven if needs be. He saluted Robin as cheerfully as he could manage, and watched as the others left.

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She lay on her bed, cold. She didn't like being this way – the 'depressed' one, the 'boring' one. She knew what the others thought. She knew their minds as she knew her own.

_My vision it can't be true I have to give him a chance he wouldn't do it I know_

It had hurt her more than she let on. Never revealing herself, never showing skin where she could help it (the others weren't aware of the translucent tights she wore every day without fail) and there she was, hands all over her, hot, wet breath in her ear, in her face...

_it won't happen he wouldn't its a mistake_

She was honest with herself a lot of the time. She didn't see much point in hiding the truth from any of her personality traits – they'd find out in the end, and had the power to make life very complicated for her if they realised she was lying to even one of them. But this? This was cause for lies, a little sacrifice on her part, another skeleton being chained up in the closet.

_His eyes he was crying himself he wanted to save me_

Raven almost smiled. Love was sacrifice, and here he was, opening all doors to her, something she never dreamed she could do, and he went and just took it off, showed her what nobody else saw, something from his past that he hid from the present. It comforted her.

_What's happening to me it's all so unprecedented all disintegrated and like a jigsaw puzzle missing the majority of the pieces why can i see past present future possibles why on earth did i see what can't possibly be true he wouldn't he wouldn't he WOULD NOT_

A knock on her door interrupted her fast thoughts, and she wiped the puzzle from her mind, pushing herself onto her weary feet to pull open the steel barrier.

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"Robin! ROBIN! Help!"

Beast Boy's shrill voice smacking through his communicator tore him in two. He was instantly concerned for Raven – if there was trouble at the Tower it was likely to be another vision...but...

He narrowed his eyes at their assailant.

"_Slade..."_

Starfire watched him with her angry green eyes. A chill wind rustled through all of them, and it blew her hair about her face, long and wiry. They hadn't seen Slade since he'd actually proved of some assistance in the battle against Trigon, and now, he was an unpleasant reminder of times they'd rather forget, as well as a nuisance when they could easily be at home, figuring out the more pressing issues.

She spoke, bold. "Why have you come back, Slade?"

They couldn't see his smile, but they could sense it. He was always like that – another mask, another soul who preferred to conceal the truth from those who were curious – but somehow, they could see, they could feel every expression on his face. Robin wondered if he had found a real face yet. Or whether he was still a skeletal mess.

"My dear" he purred in that deep, chasm voice. "I didn't realise you'd missed me".

"We hadn't," Cyborg narrowed his eyes, and his cannon arm glowed. "You're an unwelcome visitor, Slade."

Robin remained silent, mind torn in two.

"I must say," Slade continued, unabashed, "I was expecting a better welcome party. Am I such a low-level threat to you that you can only spare three Titans to battle me? Even if all I did was..." he turned to the building behind him where alarms blurred, "Hold up a bank."

It hit Robin like a wall of water. Slade watched him, grinning under his metal exterior.

"That's right, Robin. A diversion. Congratulations."

_No no he's always two steps ahead no no_

"Cyborg, blast it."

Quick to respond, Cyborg fired his cannon at Slade, and as the fires died down, Robin picked up a piece of robotic arm with a pained grimace. He felt his face pale as he turned to the others.

"The Tower. Get back to the Tower."

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"Find her..._now_."

Her room was empty. Blood in the corner. Next to the bed, Starfire cradled an injured Beast Boy. Her window was cracked open, and tiny tears of glass lay across the floor. Slade had caused them to miss the storm. Now only the glittering floor remained.

Beast Boy was quiet, his breath shallow. He watched the others with a guilty look on his face. A wound on his forehead caused Starfire to hold him protectively.

Cyborg merely watched Robin, as he paced, his hand throbbing after denting the wall. The giant metal man turned to Beast Boy, offering a smile.

"You okay, grass stain?"

Beast Boy glanced up at him, green eyes shining, and then watched the floor, as if the answer lay there.

"No. She's gone."

Robin spun around, his concern for Raven obviously outmatching his concern for Beast Boy, who, as far as he could tell, would survive his wounds easily.

"What happened?"

His voice was cold; sterile. This was an autopsy. Beast Boy shook his head.

"I...I don't know...she opened the door to let me in...and the window...it smashed...I heard...a scream...he took...I don't remember..."

Robin moved to him quickly, till their faces were almost joined. "You DO remember. What happened?"

It felt strangely familiar. Starfire interceded quickly.

"Robin, he does not know. This was not Beast Boy's fault."

Robin stood, eyes still on the Changeling, who continued to watch the floor.

"Beast Boy...please...who took Raven away?"

The room was silent for a moment, and the floor of glass glittered in the dim lighting. Robin's eyes caught sight of Raven's mirror, the one he'd used to travel into the expanse of her mind. Why was it here? Why did it look...

_Didn't I leave that in my room_

Beast Boy looked up at him just as Robin realised that glass in the mirror was smashed.

"Slade. Slade took Raven away."

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Sherbet Mayhem: Woot. That's the end of the fourth chapter. Fifth one soon! Read and Review – and enjoy! D


	5. Deceived

**Sherbet Mayhem: **Why hello, fellow travelers. Here I am, at 00.54, beginning a new chapter. Let's see where the night leads us, eh? Who knows what fun we can have

Lol, enjoy chapter five. Things are gonna get sticky P

Me no own TT. Cry. Cry. Cry.

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**Vision**

Chapter Five: Deceived

_But they were all of them, Deceived,_

_for another Ring was made..._

_And into this Ring,_

_He poured his cruelty, his malice, _

_And his will to dominate all life... _

_(Galadriel, "The Fellowship of the Ring")_

_------------------------------------------ _

_where am i_

_chains cold on my arms floor cold underneath smells of petrol in here_

_where am i_

_am i alone i feel alone i feel nothing much but cold _

_i'm so tired_

_these chains are cold they sound heavy when i move my arms feel like water_

_open eyes raven open eyes see where you are see who took you you already know_

_i don't understand this must be a vision i can hardly breathe hardly feel just cold_

_i wish this were simple_

_sound feet pat pat on the floor pat pat harder shiny shoes can hear it smart_

_where is robin he likes how i laugh he would never let me be stolen away_

_i can take care of myself_

_this isn't a vision_

_WAKE UP RAVEN_

_this isn't a vision i can't just wake up_

_open eyes open pull pull water_

_WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP move your damned arms pat pat closer very close hear the breath hear the breath_

_don't touch me too close WAKE UP_

_this is real_

_------------------------------------------ _

She wakes to cold chains about her wrists, stinging as they weigh them down. She cannot see, but feels, feels her arms pulled high, uncomfortable. Is she standing? She cannot tell. All is numb and blind to her.

She feels the cold floor beneath her, as though she stands over a raincloud. Harder though. Not soft and wet as she imagined. Hard and cold as pride. Her hair tickles her eyes.

She thinks of Robin and feels a little warmer.

_Pat pat on the floor_

Someone approaches. She hears it, but doesn't react. She doesn't know how – her entire body is chill and weary. Is the air cold around her? No, no it isn't. Then why is she so cold? The footsteps are closer. She hears a slight squeak of the shoes; they're well polished, shiny.

Her breath is ragged, and she imagines the fluffs of air before her mouth as she exhales, sharply, into the air. It's not cold, but she is, and when cold meets hot, steam is inevitable. She's an intelligent girl. She knows this. Then why doesn't she know what's happening? And why can't she open her eyes?

The footsteps stop, and she senses whoever it is lean in, close, closer. Too close. Her body stiffens, wary of that it cannot see. She can hear foreign breath, not her own, but wet, sticky, excited. No rings of cold meet hot come from that breath in the air. Passion ignites it. She is an empath. She knows these things. She feels too much. Hates it. Hates the desire in the breath. It's a man. She knows already exactly who it is. She doesn't want to know but she knows and it frightens her. In his arms before, he tore her clothes, brought up her past, a place she ran from every second, every day. His moist breath invaded her ears not too long ago. She does not want a repeat performance. Memories are horrific enough.

"Wh---" she plucks up enough courage and strength to talk, despite the heavy, drowning sensation in her lips, like air in liquid, "Where...am I?"

"You're chained up. You can't escape."

Not the voice she expected. But in his breath, still that cold, white hot desire, wet angry passion, loathing and happiness. Familiarity? She doesn't know. She's been drugged, how can she know?

"Slade...don't try to trick me."

"I already have, Raven."

_robin help me_

------------------------------------------

He ordered a complete search of the Tower, asked Beast Boy to try and remember all he could, and picked up the mirror. Its glass was broken, and only a few tearful edges remained about the circumference of the mirror. He signed, his breath warm with worry. He'd always imagined it to freeze up if anything happened to her, and he didn't understand why. He'd imagined wrong.

He placed the mirror down on a cupboard in Raven's messy room. He'd sent Starfire to search the living quarters, and Cyborg to check the basement. Beast Boy was ordered to check the rest of the rooms and the training area, while he himself...

_I don't know what i'm doing_

_------------------------------------------ _

_That voice so familiar it can't be those fangs i hear on those lips_

_it can't be he wouldn't that desire is not him it mustn't be it can't he won't he wouldn't_

_My friend would not put me in chains would not NOT NOT hurt me WOULD NOT_

_this is a vision has to be_

"Wakey wakey Raven. You'll wish this was a dream before you're done."

She prises open her eyes and surprises herself when tears slip out of them. Her hair catches them, wraps them up safely, saves them for later. She sees the green and her heart despairs. Who knows how to betray better than he who has been betrayed? She is in his hands.

"I told you you'd just get hurt."

_Blood rain blood reign I am the blood he is the steam that crawls the shadow in my nightmares_

_Betrayal stings like a wasp and poisons you till you choke_

------------------------------------------

Robin felt as though he were floating on water, face down to the deep, with the essential information drowning underneath him and the water to murky to tell the truth. Pieces of information occasionally graced him but he lost them as they swept away of their own accord. There was more going on than he knew, deeper, more heavy than he. He wanted to squeeze the oxygen out of himself and sink, as long as it led to her, as long as it could help _i'd die for raven? Would i?_ and as long as the answers came _i think i would_. He'd sink and learn, and that would please him. More than this tentative searching.

He decided to check the security cameras. Surely they would show something. He had them fitted in everybody's rooms; not something they knew about, but not something he abused either. He'd actually never used the private camera system as of yet, excluding a quick check to see if everything had been installed correctly. Even Cyborg wasn't aware of it.

He entered his bedroom, which smelled a little like musty bananas, with an unmade bed (a sign of stress in Robin, leader of the Titans) and a closed window. The lights were dim; always had been. He flipped a switch under his desk and the screen of his desktop computer flickered on, into black and white surveillance. The time now was 9.13pm. Time for bed for youngsters. How long had she been gone? He checked his communicator. Beast Boy's frantic call had been at 7.58pm. He rewound the camera tapes quickly, eyes scanning darkly for the digits he required. This felt like a dream to him. He wanted to cry.

He found 7.56 and pressed play; then fiddled a little with the toggle options of the surveillance system so he could watch all seven camera screens at once: one in each of the five Titans' rooms, one in the main living area, and one at the very entrance to the Tower. He would surely see the assailant. He watched Raven, alone in her bedroom, lying on her bed, covered in near darkness. She was difficult to see in the sepia hue of the screen. He saw Beast Boy, sitting in his own room. 7.57pm struck, and Robin's eyes narrowed, scanning every inch of every section of tape, stalking the facts like a panther.

7.58pm flipped in the corner of the screen, and Robin watched carefully. This minute was the crucial one. He watched Raven, unaware of what was happening. He watched Beast Boy, still sitting on his bed. There was no sign of anyone else in the Tower. It was dead.

_Beast Boy puts his communicator to his mouth and speaks._

Robin watched in some confusion. The call Beast Boy had made had been panicked, as if some sort of attack had taken place at that moment. He pressed another few buttons, and some sound made itself known. The cameras had microphones, and Robin listened intently. He rewound the tape a few seconds and watched again, confused and his stomach in knots. The sepia made him feel small. 2-D. Unalive.

"_Robin! ROBIN! Help!"_

His heart was in his chest as he watched Beast Boy, sitting calmly on his unmade bed, make the call. He watched it again, and again. No pain was evident on Beast Boy's face. No fear. Calculation. He let the tape play, and watched on. The communicator was replaced. Beast Boy exited his room and headed to Raven's. Robin felt sick, kept watching, watching.

_Beast Boy knocks on Raven's door. She gets up, body smooth and sleek despite the fatigue, and glides to the door. He enters, smiles and politeness. She forces a smile._

The conversation unnerved Robin as he watched, and repeated, and watched, and repeated.

"_Hey, Raven...how you feeling?"_

_A pause"Okay I guess"_

_A longer pause. Awkwardness. _

"_Think you're cracking up?"_

_Confusion._

"_What?"_

_He repeats: "Think you're cracking up?"_

Her face was astounded, almost hurt.

"_Beast Boy..."_

_He takes hold of her mirror, grins at her. _

"_I do."_

Robin's breath stopped. He couldn't move as he watched.

_He displays the mirror's shiny surface to the girl before smashing it into his forehead, glass tinkling onto himself and the floor. Raven watches, dumbstruck, body still, rigid. _

"_What are you---"_

_Her voice is cut off as Beast Boy points out his hand towards her. She jolts, and then collapses, eyes wide and white. Beast Boy transforms on camera, into a giant scaly green pterodactyl, grasps the unconscious girl in his deceptive talons, and slams through the window. They disappear. _

His breath is ragged, fearful, angry, so angry.

_They were all of them, Deceived..._

His fists clenched till his nails tore and hurt him. The tape continued to run, blank, blank. The Tower was empty. Dead. Only broken glass to remind them.

He skipped forward on the camera roll. At 8.22pm, Beast Boy returned through Raven's window. He transformed back into his treacherous self, and prepared himself in the corner. The rest of the Titans had returned at 8.34pm.

_If only we were earlier if only we'd caught him guessed his game_

_Raven where is she_

_Raven..._

_Betrayal stings like a wound and bleeds till it swallows you whole_

_------------------------------------------ _

"I'll kill him" he muttered, hands shaking as the screen finally went blank. Everything inside collapsed.

_I'll kill him if he touches her_

"I'll kill you..." his words were barely audible. His head down, heavy with knowledge and sorrowful comprehension. The veil had been lifted, but without it life was a heavier load to bear. He was beginning to sink now, to understand. Her vision, Raven's vision, in the pool in her head...she'd attacked Beast Boy...

"I'll kill you!" he screamed, yanking his head back as he dropped to his knees. His logic, his control, fled away in despair, and his fists pummeled the floor. Again. Again. Voice echoed in the hallways and the night.

He heard the others at the door to his room, felt their stares of utter bemusement. He didn't care. He knew Beast Boy would be gone now. He didn't need to turn and look.

"I'll kill you if you touch her" he whispered, only to himself, silent promises.

"I'll kill you."

_Betrayal moans in the night and whines till you give in and kill and kill._

------------------------------------------

**Sherby: **there we go that was a nice quick update for you, wasn't it? I haven't got going into the good stuff yet – just wanted to get another chapter pumped out for you guys so you could know that i'm gonna be updating a little more regularly, hopefully. Originally this chapter was meant to be longer, but you know, I'll break it up a little, add to the suspense. So, Beast Boy's a Beastie, eh? Or is he? Wait and find out. Review, you know you want to the more reviews I get, the quicker I update. You know the drill D

Hope you enjoyed, see you soon D

God bless x x x

Sherby x x

(Oh I owe Lord of the Rings; the Fellowship of the Ring for the script inserts, and I finished this chap at like exactly 3.00 am. I rock. woot yaaaah.)


	6. Devil's Food

**Sherbet Mayhem:** hey and howdy y'all! So here I am, starting chapter 6 of vision/visions...lol...I'm glad people are responding well to this fic. Just so people know, I do LOVE in depth reviews...you know...where you review each chapter...tell me EXACTLY what you think about it...lol...hint...hint...

AND ON TO CHAPTER SIX ahem lol just to warn you...nasty stuffs in this chap...very shocking...enjoy (oh, and I owe massive credit to Fleming and John for "Devil's Food" - what a song ) I'm not leaving a note at the bottom - please review me

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Chapter Six; Devil's Food.

"We have to find her."

Robin looked at the loyal remainders of his team. Raven? Captured. Beast Boy? Traitor. Only three remained. Starfire, face still stained with dry tears from watching the tape documenting the betrayal, Cyborg, eyes tight and stern, knowing what he must do. And Robin. Robin himself, clutching to the strings of leadership and sinking further into the mess, into the mire. His orders were routine. His voice was unusual; strained, cracking here and there but nowhere near breaking point. He gave orders quietly and sharply. He kept his head down for the majority of the drill. His directives were simple; track Raven's communicator. Examination of the tape revealed that it remained attached to her cloak as she was dragged through the window in treacherous talons. They needed to track it...and get her out.

_Hes got his finger on the trigger_

He nodded to them, having given them their orders.

"Oh, Titans..." he added, snapping another birdarang into his utility belt, "You will attack all threats to Raven. Don't hold back...not for anybody."

* * *

She was looking right into his eyes. They were green as always; she'd never imagined them to be so bitter to look at. They were always open, always honest.

Her lips felt salty to her. Everything was so confused.

_its not a gun its something bigger..._

Her shoulder throbbed...

"You tranquilized me?" Her voice was softer than she liked. She couldn't find the hardness threats needed. Beast Boy chuckled, his face inches away from her own.

"Boss' orders, Raven. Couldn't have you freaking out on me, just like you usually do."

That dug deep enough, and she grew angry, opening her eyes properly and glancing around at her prison. Small room. Cold, white floor, made up of tiles with a gritty texture to them...low, dark ceiling, a small light in the corner, frittering yellow. Her wrists were not only secured by two metal chains, heavy and loud if she moved, but they were bound, tight, in some sort of white tape. They were pulled almost vertically above her, making her ribs ache. Her legs hung loose, but she was secured so high to some sort of rig that her toes hardly touched the ground.

Bizarrely enough, looking past Beast Boy's smiling face _sickening_ and examining the opposite wall, Raven realised it was a mirror _what the hell_?. It stretched the length of the entire wall, and reflected with an odd brightness not only herself and Beast Boy, but the frightening rig she was hanging from. The rig itself was bright white, and flashed in the dull flints of light from the corner. It consisted mostly of thin metal beams, thinner than Raven's arm but obviously strong enough to hold her weight. Five thicker beams held the structure intact, and in the huge mirror before her, Raven, chained like wedding jewelery to the two middle fingers, looked as though she were to be crushed by a huge skeletal hand grasping from darkness.

Odder still were her clothes. Gone was her regular leotard, although her cloak (complete with communicator, bizarrely) hung on one of the "fingers" of the rig. Instead, she wore a plain white gown, sleeveless, clinging to her slim form with two tiny straps about her shoulders. It fell down to her toes, grazing the floor, fitted her eerily perfectly. She shivered.

"Beast Boy...what's going on?"

His face, too close, broke into a brilliant smile.

"Why Raven, I thought you'd never ask!" His breath was musty, like the inside of a car left too long in the sun. Overheated. She rattled her chains viciously, thrusting herself forward as much as she could. No force. Not tall enough. They chinked above her noisily.

He laughed. Right in her angry, heated face, sending the hot breath at her, the laugh smacking her in the face, finding its impression on her scowl. Her arms ached. She wanted to get down. _empath remember raven powers _Of course.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

She felt the black essence float around her hands, and saw her eyes glow in the mirror. But nothing happened, and she rattled the chains in anger _what the where are my powers what is happening_

His laugh smacked her again.

"You only help us with your powers, Raven," he slid, teeth glinting. Only glaring at him, furious, did Raven notice that Beast Boy's clothes had changed too. He wore white, simple trousers and a shirt. It clashed with his skin.

"Care to explain things to me, Beast Boy?" Raven forced a smile onto her dry lips. She didn't like the smell in the air, cold and hot. Her fingers craved freedom. The gown hung too loose about her legs.

"It's what Slade and I like to call...Emotional Warfare," he grinned suavely, charmingly. Her gut wrenched.

"Slade and you?" she could hardly push the words through her teeth. "You're working with him?"

"Don't sound too surprised Raven," Beast Boy came closer again, touching her chin with his hands. She couldn't bring herself to cringe at the touch. He was one of her best friends _Beast Boy_ and it was difficult to believe _it's impossible totally crazy_ what he was telling her _hes lying has to be maybe a spell a trick_

"It's no trick, no spell. It's what I want, Raven."

The chains clattered again as she pulled against them, ferocious.

"Are you insane? He's a _lunatic_! All he does is manipulate people, berate them, humiliate them--"

"And you guys treated me any better?"

Raven fell silent, and the room was filled with Beast Boy's shallow, enraged intakes. She waited. How was she supposed to respond to that? _the others good grief the others are they alright_

"You just used me," he continued, snapping the silence. "Little Beast Boy, comedian of the team. I helped you along, gave you the best of my abilities, and what did you give me? Jeers. Snide comments. No respect. Who stood by me when Terra broke my heart and betrayed me? None of you._'Grass-stain'._"

He leaned in closer. Raven watched with wide eyes. Heart thudded.

"And _you_, Raven. The perfect team member; no emotions. How can you be betrayed with no emotions? You'd never understand how I felt."

_Where the hell is all this coming from_ "Beast Boy...if you just spoke to me...to any of us...about this...we're your friends..."

"No!" it echoed, twice, three times. "You're not. None of you. And now it's your turn, Raven dear."

_My turn my turn for what where are the others_

_Whats he going to do he's gone crazy_

_will he hurt me_

_he's my friend_

_you saw this coming raven saw it in the pool_

_no hes a friend he won't he wouldn't couldn't better not_

_where are the others will they save me_

"Time for you to understand just how it feels to be betrayed, Raven..." his voice was soft, smooth, like oiled rubber; slippery.

_He wants to you see what it feels like to be him_

"Time for you to feel what I felt..."

_what it feels like_

"Time for you to understand every inch of the pain I suffered..."

_to be him what it feels like to be him_

"And time for you to _finally_ learn to _respect me_!"

* * *

"Robin, calling Raven...Raven do you read? Raven?"

Robin slammed his communicator shut and refastened it to his belt. He stood next to the R-Cycle, preparing to board it. Starfire hovered close, hair a little stringy looking, biting her nails anxiously. Her face was tear-stained, and her hands shook, tense. Nearby, Cyborg typed viciously on a small pad built into his forearm. Raven's communicator could be tracked. It was just a matter of finding her quickly.

"Cyborg. Any luck yet?"

Robin's voice was hard, and official. It frightened Starfire. It was the voice he used when searching for Slade, the voice he reserved only for the worst criminals, the most dangerous threats, the deadliest minds. She moved forward after Cyborg shook his head ("Give me time, Rob...") and touched Robin's arm.

"Robin," she said meekly, her tone thin. Her eyes were still wet, like emeralds in the bottom of a pool. "Perhaps it is not wise to be so angry at Beast Boy. Perhaps he is not the one to blame."

"Starfire, you saw the tape--"

"Yes, but Robin...it may be his intention to remove Raven from danger, out of love, out of friendship!"

He turned his face to her, and she could smell the anger on him. She loosed her grip on his arm, only to have him snatch her's, snarling.

"Starfire...that's not love pumping through his veins. He wants Raven for the worst of reasons. I can only hope we stop him in time."

She pulled her arm free, wincing at how tight Robin's stressed grip was.

"Perhaps...Robin...a friend does not simply go bad like that..."

"Well, in this case," Cyborg entered the conversation, his face bleak, "I think he did. From sun into shade. I found Raven's communicator. Check out my tracker."

He held out his arm like a prize, and Robin pulled it towards him, Starfire hovering overhead anxiously. Raven's communicator flashed in bright yellow on the screen.

"Is that not near the abandoned library?" Stafire asked, lime eyes studying the tracking device. Cyborg nodded, and wiped his free hand across his head, a disappointed expression melting his features.

"And look who else I found."

He clicked a small button to the left of the pad, and two more flashes appeared on the screen, in the same vicinity as Raven's. One glowed green, showing Beast Boy's location.

The other was a fat red "S".

* * *

_Oh god hes got her slades got her are beast boy and slade together in this raven god raven is she ok we have to find her_

_calm down_

_think_

_you can track her and find her_

_what if the pool was right god what if shes sweating and screaming now and i'm not there to stop the hands or break the chains raven god raven_

_THINK_

_calm down and tell your team what to do you'll never save her if you drown_

_go titans go you need to move go GO damnit MOVE_

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"I'll explain it to you once, Raven. You can either co-operate, which will probably hurt a little less, if you're lucky...or you can fight us."

"Us." Raven spat, her eyes dark with disgust. "You and him. You're a fool to think you're anything more than just his puppet."

"I'm no less than what I was with the Titans--"

"_Was_? As in 'no longer am'? Beast Boy, you're out of your mind--"

"_I'll explain it once, Raven. You listening?"_

She stopped. There was no use fighting with him – when it boiled down to the facts, she was the one chained up, in a vulnerable position, and unable to use her powers. She watched the ground, watched his shadow in the jaded light. He paced before her, typically.

"The rig you're attached to is designed to absorb your powers. Once I remove those white bandages on your arm, the machine will run gentle electric impulses through your body, slowly sapping the emotional strength from your bones and body. The rig is attached by wires to that mirror...which is more than a mere mirror. You follow me so far?"

Silence.

_Hes going to take my powers he doesnt understand theyre so dangerous_

_he cant i wont let him he has no choice I have no choice _

_what does he want with them whats the mirror god he wont get my powers while im breathing where is robin he likes how i laugh and he will save me i know he will because he loves how i laugh and star and cy they will come stop this rig bandages will it hurt whats he doing god beast boy come back to us you fool_

"Beast Boy...you don't have to do this."

He smiled, pervertedly.

_ignore it ignore the pool ignore what you saw damn it raven IGNORE IT_

* * *

_shes angry at you Beast Boy_

_Look at her pathetic dress clinging to her rodent shes a rodent ugly rodent she will pay for it all_

_how dare she ignore me steal my respect she deserves more than i can give her so much more _

_the way the light shines i can see her breasts through that dress_

_i want her to understand what it feels like to have everything sucked out from inside she will know by the end of it and slade has what he wants i'll show her im the man and shes the toy im the beast and she is NOTHING_

_--------------------------------------------- _

He moved to her arms, hands outstretched like a dying soldier, and Raven began to struggle. She couldn't let him take what was her's. If Slade held her powers in that mirror (she assumed) all hell was likely to break. She rattled the chains, growled, cried out, kicked and twisted, animal in a snare. She bit.

It wasn't enough. Beast Boy merely watched her struggle, grinning that beater grin that left her weeping inside for mercy and help. Her grabbed her left arm and before she had chance to wrench away further, the bandage was off, loose, dead on the ground. The right one fell soon after.

Raven prepared herself, resisting the urge to close her eyes but clenching her fists and her body taut with adrenaline. She felt the fabric of the dress whisper against her cold skin. And there was silence for a while. y_ou only help us with your powers Raven_

He stood there and watched her, intently, the beater grin growing less and less as the seconds dripped by. All her heard was her breathing, hard and angry and sticky; all he saw was the rise and slope of her chest; almost meditative.

He had expected more. No power was being drawn from her. There was no flash, no thunder like he'd imagined. He stepped away for a moment, envy eyes now moving to the frightening rig, flicking to the mirror, back to the rig. Nothing.

He spun around.

"Slade".

The communicator was built into his collar. "It's not working".

Slade's voice was clear, as gentle and wickedly persuasive as ever. Raven glanced about, wondering where it came from. It was too loud to come from the communicator Beast Boy wore. Hidden speakers? Or was he there? In the room, watching and enjoying?

"She's figured out the rig."

Beast Boy glanced over to Raven, who watched him carefully, hands still taut and gripped.

"Care to share, Raven dear?"

She didn't like the way Slade spoke. Like the ocean; calm, easy blue...dangerous underneath, treacherous and slippery and black.

Her response was quiet, calm. Lacklustre. "Beast Boy already told me that my powers only help you. My powers are fueled by emotions. No emotion, no power."

Beast Boy's grin had entirely faded, and he stalked up to her, pressing his face inches from her's once more.

"WHY no emotions Raven? Aren't you scared?"

"Not of you."

The fury in his eyes faded, and suddenly, Raven was facing Beast Boy. Garfield. He was back there, just for a second.

"Beast Boy..."

Slade's voice stabbed at the moment like a scorpion pierces its prey, and Beast Boy was hard in the eyes again, a gem doused in dirt. He continued to stare deep into Raven.

"Make her _feel_. Do whatever you must."

_the pool the pool raven he wouldnt dont let him he wont he is still in there beast boy where is robin i need him here where_

He stared, stolid and cold, an icepick. She held her gaze with as much porcelain as possible. She was cold back.

"I'll turn them all against you, Raven," he growled, that grin clawing back up his face. "They're going to hear it all."

His breath was too hot on her face. She held out.

"Hear _what_, Beast Boy?"

_too close too close get away beast boy the pool he wont he will not_

"Hear _you_ finally respecting me."

She fought the urge to shout, to weep, to struggle.

"You won't enjoy this, Raven..."

A portion of her control slipped, and she felt a tiny impulse run through her hand. She quickly glanced up, forcing serenity upon herself, and saw a slither of black snake upwards from her hand into the rig. She didn't see its final destination.

"Cyborg? What will he think of you, eh? Actually, I don't really think he ever liked you, did he? You can't _imagine_ the names he calls you when you're not in the room..."

_fight it stay calm stay controlled you know what will happen robin where are you cyborg you wouldnt didnt i know you you didnt LIAR_

"And pretty Starfire. When you're gone, Raven, and this is all over, I'm going to have her. I might even lock her up here, right where you are. She can wear your little gown. All for me and Slade."

_oh god star he wont ignore it oh god dont god_

Another impulse, stronger now, and Raven breathed out, feeling it leave her this time. It pulled right in her centre, ragged up and out.

He was closer now, and she recoiled as his hands slipped about her shaking waist.

"And Robin..."

Before he even said anything Raven felt a huge slip of her energy clamber up through her arms and dive into the rig. It stung. It left a gap, a hole.

"Beast Boy..."

"_You think I haven't seen how he looks at you?"_

_someone help me robin robin _

"Oh...he wants you, Raven...I see it, hear it in his voice, smell the desire all over him...he _won't get you first though..._will he?"

The hands released from her waist suddenly, and Raven felt another chunk of power run laughing into the rig. It was leaving her weaker and weaker...and something was forming in the mirror.

Beast Boy stepped over to her cloak.

"Do you want to call him, or should I?"

His voice was chill, his grin manic and beat beat beating on Raven's eyes. His skinny body threatened her beyond belief. The room grew hot and sweaty. She couldn't find words to form on her dry lips as he flipped open the communicator.

* * *

"_Beast Boy calling Robin, do you read?"_

The sound of tires as Robin dragged his bike to a stop deafened for a moment, and then smoked in the air. Cyborg and Starfire, traveling close behind in Cyborg's car, quickly came to a halt.

"Beast Boy. Where are you? Where is Raven?"

The three of them gathered together about Robin's communicator, which he quickly turned on to loud speaker. Robin's voice was calm. The anger bubbled underneath.

"_Details you already know, Robin. Raven is with me. Cyborg knows how to track a signal as well as any other robot."_

Starfire quickly placed a hand on the metal man's arm, as he shook with anger.

"Beast Boy, friend. We merely wish to know what is happening. Please, tell us."

"_Still hoping I'm good, eh, Star? Cute. Can't wait to get to you later."_

Robin growled. "Beast Boy, tell us now, what you want with Raven. Is she alright?"

"_Fine, actually. Like I said, she's with me. Raven's been having a ball of a time, right, Rae?"_

Robin didn't like it. He heard the ooze of Beast Boy's voice, the silence on behalf of Raven.

"Let me see her. Let me see she's alright." His voice was pleading now. There was a laugh on the other end of the communicator.

"_Hear that, Raven? They wanna watch. Well, who am I to refuse such a request, eh?"_

Robin glanced at Cyborg and Starfire. They looked as bemused as he did.

The screen on the communicator flickered, and then switched on. The saw Beast Boy's face, grinning widely, teeth showing white.

"_Here's your princess, ladies and gents..."_

The camera moved, and soon they could see her, hanging by her arms, head down, breathing heavy, white like a virgin, looking away.

_the pool robin remember no its not beast boy wouldnt _

"Raven!" Robin shouted into the communicator, a light rain beginning to tap down upon them as they watched. The street they were on was deserted. The only audience was the rain.

"Raven, get away from him! Get out of there!"

"_Robin, do you honestly think she hasn't tried? She's attached to a rig, which slowly but surely saps her powers from her. Slade and I have great plans for her. She should see it as an honour, but, you know, Raven didn't always see things the way everyone else did. However, her powers were a no-show for a while – so I've got to provoke them..."_

Robin knew now. He knew the pool, knew the vision was there, was him.

_Hes a parasite and hes trying to suck the life out of you_

"Raven..." Cyborg was catching on, and glanced at Robin. He wanted to hear his leader deny it, prove it wasn't going to happen that way. Robin's eyes merely glued to the screen, sweat beading down his face and dancing with the rain, falling harder now.

The screen moved to the floor, rested on an angle in which Raven was entirely visible. She looked drained, exhausted. Her hair straggled to her face, and for a moment, her eyes turned to the screen, meeting all of theirs. They screamed for help. Starfire's hand flew to her mouth.

"Raven..."

Beast Boy moved closer to the prey, hands out. Robin could taste the heat in the air as tears gathered about his eyes. They were helpless. So was she. It was warm on his tongue.

She made not a sound. They watched, rain and tears writhing down their skin as his hands moved, as material tore, as he forced and forced. Starfire looked away, sobbing. Submission hurt. Cyborg's head shook no, no, no as he watched, unable to scratch out his eyes. Animal grunts. She was silent, as a reed battered by wind. The chains about her wrists rattled back and forth, swaying.

_Get off me this is not yours you have no right_

_You cannot take this it is mine_

_Please leave me alone do not touch me no you were my friend_

_Please stop you mustn't STOP he is not listening to me_

_I trust you I know you won't_

_Will he believe that will it stop him_

_No I trust you you will not take me you will not I know you you you won't hurt me you won't use me_

_Why are you with him_

_No please no help me somebody_

_Why aren't they listening_

_He will not break me I won't let him_

_Oh God it hurts so much he hurts that's mine give it please don't take it why _

_These chains are cold on my wrists_

_It hurts I must be bleeding I can't cry I already am_

_Where are you_

_You said you wanted me to laugh well how do I laugh at this_

_He said he'd steal my pain but oh God this hurts why is he hurting me_

Tears streamed down her face. Her eyes were closed tight. The rain fell harder and harder, pushing them.

_Shes mine and its perfect_

_god help me somebody_

_her powers are leaking out shes mine mine i am the man now she is the toy RESPECT ME_

_robin help me im sorry robin robin god help me_

_all mine now all mine_

Robin watched, fists drooped, weak. If the rain got any harder, he felt as though it would sink him into the ground.

_you're devils food_

Black flashes of power erupted from her hands and she groaned, throwing her head back, soon an outcry. Beast Boy let her go, zipped his trousers, grinned that grin. Robin shook, wept behind his mask, so much he could hardly see, hardly breathe. Cyborg shivered. Starfire sobbed.

Raven let go.

The whole rig shuddered, and was engulfed in black light, powerful and hungry as the sea. It roared, and the screen was encased in the light, flickering and only noise now. They heard things dropping, things falling, cracking. Metal flickered. Robin grew more angry now, more volcanic, teeth clenched, legs stiff, heart pounding enough, pulsing, pulsing hard, hard...it hurt so much to let go...

"_Robin?"_

He heard her voice, no image on the screen, but her voice. It shook. Tremulous. It broke the sound of the rain. It rained too much.

"R-Raven?" He was broken. He could hardly speak.

She was quiet, still resigned, gasping for breath. _"Is Cyborg there?"_

"Yes." Cyborg stepped in and responded.

"_I need him to guide me out of this building."_

_How can she do that how is she still fighting this he took her took her away won over us how can she fight how is she still alive_

Cyborg pressed button after button on his arm. He already had blueprints of every building in the city. He brought up the required ones, face stony, still shivering, Starfire still clinging. Robin had stopped.

"Raven...the door is to your right..."

* * *


End file.
